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| Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami |
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), disclosed on Thursday (today) that the Federal Government of Nigeria had concluded arrangement with the government of Switzerland on the return of $321m siphoned by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.
The minister also said that the sum of $85m had been recovered from the controversial Malabu deal involving the sum $1.6bn from the United Kingdom.
The Special Adviser to the AGF on Media and Publicity, Mr. Salihu Isah, stated that the minister said this in his remarks at the Pre-Global Forum on Asset Recovery consultative meeting held in Abuja on Thursday.
The meeting was said to have been with the theme, ‘Building an Enduring Framework for Asset Recovery in Nigeria.’
The meeting was said to have been scheduled to hold between December 4 and 6, 2017.
The statement read in part, “The Honourable Attorney General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, (SAN), has revealed that negotiation with Switzerland on the return of $321m recovered from the late Abacha family had been concluded, adding that Nigeria had recently recovered the sum of $85m from the controversial Malabu Restrained Funds from United Kingdom.”
It added that Malami “affirmed the need for the international community to ensure the implementation of the measures considered and adopted at the London Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016.”
It also said the minister reiterated that Nigeria was more than willing to support the transparent return of stolen assets.
Malami was said to have equally urged the international community to improve on procedures for “speedier return of assets to enable Nigeria to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Isah added that Malami affirmed the need for the international community to ensure the implementation of the measures considered and adopted at the London Anti-Corruption Summit in May, 2016.
Isah stated that the AGF also emphasised that Nigeria was more than willing to support the transparent return of stolen assets.
The statement quoted the AGF as saying, “It is widely acknowledged that corruption undermines economic development, political stability, rule of law, social development, disrupts social order and destroys public trust in the governance system.
“It is an established fact that corruption which is linked to organised crime, terrorism and insecurity is one of the reasons for underdevelopment.”
Malami was said to have also “reiterated that resources and funds meant for development of infrastructure in education, health and security sectors, among others had been stolen and laundered in different parts of the world.”
The minister was said to have “further reaffirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari in May, 2015 made a commitment to tackle corruption and equally focussed on the return of stolen assets from various jurisdictions and that Nigeria had set clear targets towards improving transparency in the management of assets through the Treasury Single Account and the Bank Verification Number.
He stated also that Nigeria had saved trillions of naira through these processes.”
It added, “Subsequently, under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption implementation mechanism, Nigeria was peer reviewed in May, 2017 by Myanmar and Cote D’Ivoire in the first year of the second cycle which covers areas of Preventive Measures And Asset Recovery.”
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The minister also said that the sum of $85m had been recovered from the controversial Malabu deal involving the sum $1.6bn from the United Kingdom.
The Special Adviser to the AGF on Media and Publicity, Mr. Salihu Isah, stated that the minister said this in his remarks at the Pre-Global Forum on Asset Recovery consultative meeting held in Abuja on Thursday.
The meeting was said to have been with the theme, ‘Building an Enduring Framework for Asset Recovery in Nigeria.’
The meeting was said to have been scheduled to hold between December 4 and 6, 2017.
The statement read in part, “The Honourable Attorney General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, (SAN), has revealed that negotiation with Switzerland on the return of $321m recovered from the late Abacha family had been concluded, adding that Nigeria had recently recovered the sum of $85m from the controversial Malabu Restrained Funds from United Kingdom.”
It added that Malami “affirmed the need for the international community to ensure the implementation of the measures considered and adopted at the London Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016.”
It also said the minister reiterated that Nigeria was more than willing to support the transparent return of stolen assets.
Malami was said to have equally urged the international community to improve on procedures for “speedier return of assets to enable Nigeria to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Isah added that Malami affirmed the need for the international community to ensure the implementation of the measures considered and adopted at the London Anti-Corruption Summit in May, 2016.
Isah stated that the AGF also emphasised that Nigeria was more than willing to support the transparent return of stolen assets.
The statement quoted the AGF as saying, “It is widely acknowledged that corruption undermines economic development, political stability, rule of law, social development, disrupts social order and destroys public trust in the governance system.
“It is an established fact that corruption which is linked to organised crime, terrorism and insecurity is one of the reasons for underdevelopment.”
Malami was said to have also “reiterated that resources and funds meant for development of infrastructure in education, health and security sectors, among others had been stolen and laundered in different parts of the world.”
The minister was said to have “further reaffirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari in May, 2015 made a commitment to tackle corruption and equally focussed on the return of stolen assets from various jurisdictions and that Nigeria had set clear targets towards improving transparency in the management of assets through the Treasury Single Account and the Bank Verification Number.
He stated also that Nigeria had saved trillions of naira through these processes.”
It added, “Subsequently, under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption implementation mechanism, Nigeria was peer reviewed in May, 2017 by Myanmar and Cote D’Ivoire in the first year of the second cycle which covers areas of Preventive Measures And Asset Recovery.”
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