The Nigerian government is locked in a court battle with Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) over control of €180million (£150million) that was stashed abroad by Nigeria’s former Head of State, late Gen. Sani Abacha.
According to UK’s The Telegraph, the case was again poised to spark fresh questions about dirty money flowing through the City of London.
In the latest legal tussle over the money, generally known in Nigeria as “Abacha loot”, the report stated that Nigeria wanted the crime-fighting agency, NCA, to release funds that it froze at the request of US authorities.
In May 2020, the Nigerian government confirmed the receipt of $311million looted by the late dictator repatriated from the United States and Island of Jersey.
According to Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, “The amount increased significantly from over $308million to over $311million because of the interest that accrued from February 3, 2020, to 28th April, 2020, when the fund was transferred to the CBN.”
It came after the recovery of $322million from Switzerland in 2018.
At the time, Malami noted that the government had committed that the asset would support and assist in expediting the construction of three major infrastructure projects across Nigeria, namely, Lagos – Ibadan Expressway, Abuja – Kano Road, and Second Niger Bridge.
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