The Federal government has received €4.214, 017 million of the looted funds seized from the associates and family members of former Delta State governor, James Ibori.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), made the disclosure, yesterday.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that the AGF had earlier announced that the Federal Government was in touch with the government of the United Kingdom on the matter.
In a statement, yesterday, by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr. Umar Gwandu, the AGF said the amount has been credited into the designated Federal Government account with naira equivalent value of the amount as of May 10, 2021.
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The development, according to Malami, is a demonstration of the recognition of the reputation Nigeria has earned through records of management of recovered stolen assets in the execution of public-oriented projects.
Ibori, who was governor between 1999 and 2007, in 2012, pleaded guilty in a UK court to charges of money laundering, conspiracy to defraud, and forgery. He was sentenced to an aggregate 13 years jail term.
The Nigerian government had signed an MoU with the UK in 2016, for the repatriation of the funds recovered from family and associates of Ibori laundered to the UK.
The Federal Government had announced that the funds would be used for the completion of ongoing work on the second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano, and Lagos-Ibadan expressways, which were already being funded with the recovered $311million Abacha loot III.
However, the position of the Federal Government has sparked controversy, with the Delta State government indicating interest to challenge the use of the funds for the proposed federal government projects.
Commissioner for Information, Ehiedu Aniagwu, stated: ‘We would try to take advantage of the legal system to make the federal government correct the injustice they are about to visit on us as a state. If they are quite sure that the funds they are about to repatriate left Delta State, on account of those who have governed the state in the past, on what basis would they now take the money to another place? Under which law?’
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK