General
$500m Abacha Loot: US Refuses to Deal with Malami’s Lawyers
By Dipo Olowookere
The United States government has maintained that it would not have anything to do with lawyers of Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami, in the repatriation of the $500 million Abacha loot.
Instead, the US government, through its Department of Justice, said it would only do business directly with the Nigerian government.
In an exclusive report by The Cable, it was disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari was told point blank during his visit to the US that no party would be listened to in the restitution of the funds.
Mr Malami had attempted to engage private lawyers who were going to take a cut as “legal fees” — even though they did not play any role in the recovery of the stolen funds traced to the former military head of state, Sani Abacha, who ruled Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.
The recoveries were made in 2014 under President Goodluck Jonathan and domiciled with the US government — and all the lawyers involved had been paid 4% of the funds as their fees.
The funds were to be returned to Nigeria on the condition that the federal government would sign an MoU to avoid the mismanagement associated with recoveries under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Like Switzerland, Like America
In 2016, however, Mr Malami went ahead to appoint two Nigerian lawyers again — in a pattern very similar to the $321 million Abacha Loot recovered from Luxembourg also in 2014 for which the lawyers he hurriedly engaged were to be paid almost $17 million for doing nothing.
In the Switzerland case, Mr Malami appointed Oladipo Okpeseyi, a senior advocate, and Temitope Isaac Adebayo, in 2016 apparently to replicate the job already done.
Incidentally, Okpeseyi and Adebayo were lawyers to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the APC legacy party of which Malami was the legal adviser.
He also proposed to use the same lawyers in the US case, but TheCable understands that the department of justice has consistently refused to entertain them, thereby stalling the return of the money to Nigeria.
America has now promised to return the $500 million but without the involvement of the appointed intermediaries.
The Nigerian government has also undertaken to spend the money on social protection programmes.
According to documents seen by TheCable, the DoJ initiated a legal action in November 2013 on the request of then attorney-general, Mohammed Bello Adoke, to confiscate assets worth $500 million traced to the Abacha family in France, Jersey and the UK.
Although the funds were not in the US, they fell foul of America’s money laundering laws having passed through the country in one form or the other.
Following a civil forfeiture complaint, the DoJ froze $280 million of Abacha Loot in Jersey, $140 million in France and $40 million in England.
Under US rules, any claimants to the asset were required to file a claim no later than 35 days after direct notice was sent to them or 60 days after the publication of notice.
The Forfeiture
Neither Mohammed Abacha, son of the late dictator, nor his companies filed any such complaint within the period until it expired.
Mr Adoke had instituted a criminal case against the Abachas in Nigeria which eventually forced the family to enter into a settlement with the federal government to return the looted funds.
On June 2, 2014, the DoJ requested the US district court for the District of Columbia to enter into a default judgment against the Abachas in the suit, United States of America v. All Assets Held in Account Number 80020796 in the Name of Doraville Properties Corporation at Deutsche Bank International Limited in Jersey, Channel Islands and All Interest, Benefits of Assets Traceable Thereto.
However, some lawyers appeared on the scene claiming to have been engaged by Nigeria to handle the recovery of the funds.
They showed a letter of authority signed by Akin Olujinmi, Nigeria’s attorney-general between 2003 and 2005 — even though the Nigerian government had engaged Enrico Monfrini, a Swiss lawyer, to do the same job in 1999.
The lawyers — Jude Chukwuma Ezeala, Kenneth A. Nnaka, Godson Nnaka and Charles Lion Agwumezie — were also said not to have done anything in 10 years since Olujinmi authorised them.
Their involvement was opposed by Adoke, who wrote a letter dated May 26, 2014 to the Asset Forfeiture Money Laundering Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, to state that the lawyers were not authorised.
Thereafter, specifically on June 27, 2014, the DoJ requested that US district court for the District of Columbia to strike out the complaint filed by the four lawyers.
As a result, the DoJ got a motion in the US district court for DC on July 3, 2014 — finally allowing for the recovery of the funds.
In all, well over $1 billion was traced to Abacha in the UK, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein as at 2012 when Jonathan was president.
Returned With Interest
The $321 million recovered from Luxembourg in 2014 under President Goodluck Jonathan was domiciled with the attorney-general of Switzerland pending the signing of an MoU to avoid the mismanagement associated with previous recoveries.
Pio Wennubst, assistant director-general and head, Global Cooperation Department, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, told NAN recently that the money was returned to Nigeria with a $1.5 million interest, bringing it to a total of $322.5 million.
TheCable reported Malami’s attempt to pay lawyers for the deal, prompting a parliamentary inquiry.
The house of representatives has set up a probe panel to investigate the suspected sleaze.
The recovery was done by Enrico Monfrini, a Swiss lawyer, who vehemently denied syndicated media articles that he was asking for another 20% of the recovered funds for the final leg of the restitution to Nigeria.
In an email to TheCable, however, Monfrini had explained that there is no truth in the allegation.
“I never had the audacity to claim for additional fees. This figure of 20% is simply invented. I didn’t reject any proposal made by Mr Malami since my fees were already paid a long time before Mr Malami’s appointment as attorney general,” he said, adding that “any allegations against that would just be a lie.”
“The repatriation of the $321 million was not completed by me. It’s a matter which is normally dealt between governments and which doesn’t entail the engagement of lawyers.”
Malami does not respond to calls or text messages from TheCable.
Source: The Cable
By Adedapo Adesanya
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has come under fire from the camp of President Bola Tinubu over his criticism of the latter’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
President Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Mr Olusegun Dada, regarded the former president as “Nigeria’s grandfather of hypocrisy trying to whitewash his bad democratic records.”
While commenting on the Rivers issue in Abuja on Monday, Mr Obasanjo said, “Democracy is not about power grabbing illegally and telling victims to go to court.”
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in what appears to be a rebuttal, Mr Dada stated that the former president is attempting to exonerate himself from blame for how bad the nation’s democracy has become.
“Coming to Obasanjo’s remarks at the Ihedioha Colloquium, it is obvious that OBJ is trying every trick possible to whitewash his bad democratic records by trying to exonerate himself from blame for how Nigeria’s democracy has fared.
“It is shocking to many who were adults during the Obasanjo 1999-2007 era to hear OBJ preaching that democracy is not about power grabbing illegally and telling victims to go to court. He even said democracy is dying in Nigeria.
“This is the same OBJ that turned himself into a kingmaker and a demigod in his second term in office between 2003-2004. Anybody who disagreed with him became prey.
“Obasanjo is simply the grandfather of hypocrisy in Nigeria at the moment.
“This is an OBJ who worked with his then VP, Atiku Abubakar to steal opposition states for PDP thanks to their job man, Prof. Maurice Iwu who was INEC Chairman.
“OBJ made sure incumbent governors of Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, and Oyo states who all belonged to AD were rigged out using federal might. Only Lagos survived the rigging onslaught.
“Atiku himself later willingly confessed publicly how they spared only Lagos governed by Bola Tinubu in the South West that was formerly controlled by AD as of 1999,” Mr Dada’s post read.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Monday, March 31, and Tuesday, April 1, 2025, have been declared as public holidays by the federal government to celebrate the end of Ramadan.
A statement on Wednesday by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Ms Magdalene Ajani, confirmed that the two days are work-free to mark this year’s Eid-el-Fitr.
On March 1, 2025, Muslims in Nigeria joined the others across the globe for this year’s annual 30-day fast. It will end this weekend.
In the statement, the Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, was quoted to have congratulated Muslims across the country on the successful completion of the Ramadan, urging them to embrace the virtues of self-discipline, compassion, generosity, and peace.
He reportedly “encouraged citizens to celebrate safely and responsibly, while remembering the less privileged through acts of kindness and charity, in keeping with the true spirit of Ramadan and Eid.”
“On behalf of the federal government, he extended heartfelt Eid Mubarak wishes to all Muslim faithful and prayed that the blessings of the season bring happiness, success, and fulfilment to everyone,” the statement noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
On Wednesday, the Senate mandated the Senate Committee on Communications to investigate the recent increase in the cost of internet data packages by telecommunications companies in the country.
Recall that MTN had implemented another price hike on internet plans, the second time in the last three months after the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) approval of a 50 per cent tariff increase in January.
The probe was part of resolutions after a debate on a bill sponsored by Mr Asuquo Ekpenyong, the Senator representing Cross River South, which highlights the financial strain the price hike has placed on millions of Nigerians, particularly young people who rely on affordable internet access for their livelihoods.
The probe will also recommend solutions for a more sustainable and business-friendly telecommunications sector.
The bill noted that the over 200 per cent increase in costs had “placed significant financial strain on millions of Nigerians, especially young people who rely on the internet for their livelihood.
“Among resolutions passed, the Senate asked the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, to engage with telecommunications providers to review the data costs and “ensure that pricing remains fair and affordable for all Nigerians.”
The bill identified multiple factors contributing to the high cost of telecommunications in Nigeria, including poor infrastructure and unreliable power supply; high import duties on ICT equipment; multiple taxation and excessive regulatory charges; security concerns increasing operational risks and insurance costs; bureaucratic bottlenecks slowing business operations and innovation; and high diesel and alternative energy costs due to unreliable national grid supply
To resolve the challenges, lawmakers asked the federal government to engage with network providers to review recent data price increases and ensure fair and affordable pricing.
The red chamber also passed a bill mandating the compulsory registration of citizens to overhaul Nigeria’s identity management system through the repeal and reenactment of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act.
The passage followed the submission and consideration of a report by the Committee on National Identity Card and Population, chaired by Mr Victor Umeh, the senator representing Anambra Central.
Mr Umeh explained that the legislation seeks to establish a harmonised, cost-effective identity system that aligns with global best practices, enhances data accuracy, promotes inclusion and closes existing gaps in Nigeria’s identity database.
Once signed into law, the bill also provides for the creation of a centralized database and a commission responsible for registering citizens and issuing identity cards. It now awaits consideration by the House of Representatives before being forwarded to the President for assent.
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