Disclose how $5bn Abacha loot was spent, court orders FG

Disclose how $5bn Abacha loot was spent, court orders FG

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Federal Government to disclosed the spending details of about $5bn Abacha loot recovered by the governments of former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.

The court also ordered the government of President Bola Tinubu to “disclose the exact amount of money stolen by General Sani Abacha from Nigeria”, and the total amount of the Abacha loot recovered by the governments since 1999.

The judgment was delivered on July 3 by Justice James Omotosho following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/407/2020, filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

The court asked President Tinubu government to give the total amount recovered as Abacha loot and “all agreements signed on same by the governments of former Presidents (Olusegun) Obasanjo, (Umaru) Yar’Adua, (Goodluck) Jonathan and (Muhammadu) Buhari”.

The court ordered the Federal Government through the ministry of finance to furnish SERAP with the full spending details of the Abacha loot within seven days of the judgment.

In his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that, “In the final analysis, the application by SERAP is meritorious and the Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance is hereby ordered to furnish SERAP with the full spending details of about $5bn Abacha loot within seven days of this judgment.”