The French authorities have revealed plans to repatriate a fresh sum of $150 million from the Sani Abacha loot to Nigeria. The announcement was made by Julien Buissart, the head of the French delegation to the 10th Session of State Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (CoSP10), during the GFAR Action Series.
The disclosure has triggered swift reactions from Nigerian civil society organizations participating in the 10th Session of the UNCAC-CoSP in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Concerns were expressed regarding the fact that the agreement for the return of the funds was not formally signed during CoSP10, echoing a similar situation during the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) in 2017 when the Swiss government signed an MoU with Nigeria and the World Bank for the return of $322.5 million of recovered Abacha loot.
Rev. David Ugolor, the Executive Director of ANEEJ, commented on the missed opportunity for France to sign the MoU during CoSP10, emphasizing the expectation for a commitment to the expeditious return of asset recovery.
He noted the presence of Nigerian government officials, led by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, at the conference.
Expressing excitement, Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu, the Executive Director of the African Centre, credited persistent engagement efforts for the positive outcome.
She highlighted the establishment of the African Center for Asset Recovery and Sustainable Development, which will continue to collaborate with the government to advocate for transparency embedded in GFAR through civil society monitoring.
Olanrewaju Suraju, Chairman of the Governing Board of HEDA Resource Centre, emphasized the moral responsibility of destination countries in preventing the proliferation of illicit funds and assets into their systems. He highlighted the increasing burden on victim countries in terms of the costs associated with asset tracing, forfeiture, and recovery.
As the news of the impending return of the Sani Abacha loot unfolds, stakeholders closely monitor developments and advocate for transparent and expeditious processes in asset recovery agreements between France and Nigeria.
