Even with the massive mismanagement and re-looting of the economy and recovered loots respectively by successive administrations, especially the present government, the Buhari government has insisted that the about to be recovered money stolen by former Delta State governor, James Ibori, will not be returned to its original owners, Delta State, but retained by the Federal Government, a move many Nigerians have cried foul about.
Ibori was convicted by a court in the United Kingdom in 2012 for various offences ranging from gross misconduct, money laundering and other financial crimes.
It would be recalled that Nigerian courts have already exonerated and acquitted him of all crimes before the UK court’s judgment. Jailed 13 years, but was released on December 9, 2016 after serving a fraction of the jail term.
In a recent development, mixed reactions are playing out on account of Ibori. This is with regards to the British Government’s resolve to return to Nigeria £4.2million (about N2.2 billion) funds recovered from friends and family members of the former governor.
Outrage has trailed Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami’s disclosure that the £4.2million will not be returned to Delta State from where it was stolen, but would be kept by the Federal Government, and be deployed to complete the second Niger Bridge in addition to other projects, he added that the money would also impact significantly on the Lagos-Ibadan and the Abuja-Kano expressway projects.
“In consonance with existing framework engaged in the management of previous recoveries, the Federal Executive Council has directed that the instant repatriated funds should be deployed towards the completion of the Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano expressway and the Lagos-Ibadan expressway under the coordination of the Nigeria Social Investment Authority (NSIA),” Malami said.
Malami and the Federal government’s desire to hold on to the Ibori loot, instead of handing over to the rightful owner, the government of Delta State, may not be unconnected to the fact that the fund is huge.
According to reports the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Catriona Laing, while concluding a Memorandum of Understanding with Malami, had said the money was the first tranche of such a planned refund, noting that the Ibori case is complicated and the United Kingdom authorities were still working on the total and actual amount involved in the case.
Malami’s insistence hinged on the fact other than projects that the federal government had all along provided the required mutual assistance and back up to the British authorities while the prosecution of James Ibori lasted in London.
Critics have, however, questioned the rationale behind ploughing the fund into the same projects that previously recovered Abacha loot had been allocated to.
Reacting through the Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, the Delta State government described the Federal Government’s plan to siphon the recovered fund as the height of wickedness.
“Why should Delta State money be used in building Lagos-Ibadan Expressway or Abuja-Kano rail? Is the Federal Government saying it doesn’t know the origin of the money? The money belongs to Delta State. We would have understood if the Federal Government had said it wants to receive 20 per cent, but to take all the money is wrong,” he said.
Other prominent Nigerians have also lent their voices in condemnation of the Federal Government’s decision to deny Delta State of the recovered looted fund. Among them is the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, who in recent times, has been having a running battle with Malami, leading to the Justice Minister expressing a desire to disband the committee.
Sagay, in a Guardian report, supported the Delta State government, saying “The money is Delta State money and must be returned to Delta State. The Federal Government cannot appropriate it for any reason whatsoever. Delta State should officially demand it, failing which the court can be activated for a judicial pronouncement in that regard.”
In the same vein, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a non-governmental advocacy body, said “the funds should be utilized to compensate victims of corruption in Delta State from whom it was stolen…
Other citizens, who believe the money should be returned to Delta State are Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), Delta State-based lawyer, Chief Albert Akpomudje SAN, Constitutional lawyer and author, Chief Sebastine Hon (SAN), Lagos-based lawyer, Emeka Okpoko (SAN) among a retinue of other voices.
The Federal Government might be leveraging on the judgment of Justice Gabriel Kolawole 2016, who had accused the Delta State government of protecting Ibori, thereby ruling that the $15 million, which Ibori allegedly wanted to use in bribing a former Chairman of the EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, be paid into the Federation Account and not the Delta State coffers.
Tension remains high as to the steps the Federal Government would take considering that the High Commissioner has said that the £4.2 million would be made available to Nigeria “in the next couple of days”.
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