Skip to main content

$321m Abacha’s Swiss loot to be repatriated

Sani Abacha, former Nigerian dictator

Sani Abacha, former Nigerian dictator

Nigeria and Switzerland on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the repatriation of $321 million stashed in the European nation’s banks by the late maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha.

The pact also seeks to block accounts linked to stolen funds. This is the second batch of the stolen money linked to the late Abacha.

Switzerland in 2005 also repatriated $722m to Nigeria.

Eric Mayoraz, the Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, hinted that both countries are now in the process of repatriating the looted fund.

According to him, the MoU, will help to remove all the legal bottlenecks in the fund repatriation.

The envoy according to The Nation spoke during the signing of MoU on Mutual Legal Assistance on criminal matters, between the Swiss government and the Federal Government in Abuja.

Mayoraz noted that Friday’s event is significant in eradicating every bottleneck associated with the repatriation of stolen funds kept in his country.

The ambassador, while speaking stated that the pact is aimed at fostering understanding between the two countries as it relates to their different legal system said, “We are now in the process of repatriating $321m from the second batch of the Abacha loot.

“Our countries enjoy excellent relations and we cooperate as partners in many fields, particularly on the return of looted assets, migration, human rights, humanitarian assistance and many others.

“Today, we decide to take this cooperation forward to deepen it in the field of judicial cooperation. By signing a Memorandum of Understanding in this important area, our two states further strengthen their ties of friendship and cooperation.”

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Man docked for defiling 9-year-old girl

magistrate-court A 33-year-old man, Godwin Otobo, was on Monday docked at a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.For allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl, ‎Otobo, who lives at No. 10, Borrow Pit St., Sangotedo-Ajah area of Lagos, was said to have defiled the underage girl whose parents also reside in the same compound. The Prosecutor, Sgt. Anthonia Osayande, told the court that the accused committed the offence at about 9.00 p.m. sometimes in September. “The accused defiled the girl in the night when she was fetching water.‎ “The offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011,’’ Osayande told the court. The accused pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge of defilement. Ruling on a bail application filed by the accused, Chief Magistrate Ipaye Nwachukwu, granted him bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. She said one of the sureties must be a property owner in Lagos State, while the other must be a civil servant on grade...
Post a Comment
Read more