The Ara Dolarian case —finally a big win for Nigeria — is among a litany of cases Nigeria is fighting on international soil to protect its assets from getting yanked. Until the judgment, Nigeria faced a double whammy, receiving neither its funds nor the military equipment it intended to purchase with the money.
Nigeria has won a prolonged legal battle to recover over $6 million in arms funds that had been seized by the United States government since 2014.
The funds were seized about a decade ago from an arms broker, who was trying to supply military equipment from the US to Nigeria without having the necessary licence.
The US government said the arms broker’s active involvement in the sale, export, and supply of military products to Nigeria without authorisation was a violation of the Arms Export Control Act, leading to the seizure of the funds.
However, in a ruling on 23 December, the US District Court for Eastern California ordered the release of the funds totalling about $6.02 million after confirming Nigeria’s interest in it.
A copy of the ruling seen by PREMIUM TIMES shows that Judge Jenniffer Thurston issued a permanent order of forfeiture of the money in favour of Nigeria, modifying the earlier January 2020 preliminary order forfeiting the assets to the US government.
The judge ordered the US government to release the money with the accrued interests to the Nigerian government within 60 days.
“Within sixty (60) days from entry of this Stipulation for Final Order of Forfeiture and Order Thereon, the US Customs and Border Protection shall return the above-listed assets to Petitioner, along with any interest earned by the United States while on deposit in an interest-bearing account,” a copy of the court order seen by PREMIUM TIMES read.
The matter began in 2015 when the then army chief, Sambo Dasuki, sought to circumvent a U.S. ban on arms sales to Nigeria and increase former President Goodluck Jonathan’s chances of re-election.
Mr Dolarian was contracted to buy an arsenal of sophisticated weapons for the West African nation amid the raging Boko Haram crisis and with looming general elections at the time.
The weapons ranged from high‑explosive bombs, rockets, military-grade firearms, and aircraft-mounted cannons and $8.6 million was transferred.
On getting the money, Mr Dolarian began splurging the funds on luxury assets, including a brand-new BMW vehicle and settled his outstanding taxes.
His lavish spending triggered FBI scrutiny, and when Mr Dolarian was questioned, agents discovered that he was an illegal arms dealer who had no licence to conduct such business, in blatant violation of existing U.S. laws.
Subsequently, the FBI charged him to court after seizing the $6.1 million left from the $8.6 million transferred by the Nigerian government in 2015. Mr Dolarian had squandered over $1 million on his personal expenses rather than the illegal business he was contracted for.
Mr Dolarian had already forfeited his rights to the seized funds after he pleaded guilty to charges of illegal dealing in military-grade weapons and money laundering in June 2019.
The Ara Dolarian case —finally a big win for Nigeria — is among a litany of cases Nigeria is fighting on international soil to protect its assets from getting yanked.
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