Don’t Repatriate $320m Abacha Loot, U.S. Senators Tell Trump

TRACKING_____Another tranche of General Sani Aba­cha’s loot totaling $320 million, which the U.S. government was ear­lier poised to repatriate to the country, might not anytime soon be returned.

This is because the U.S. Senate Finance Committee led by Charles Grassley is calling for a review of plans to return the money to Nigeria.

The Senate committee be­lieves that the Nigerian gov­ernment is allegedly corrupt and abusive of fundamental human rights.

It specifically bemoaned the role being played by Abu­bakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and Ibrahim Magu, acting Chair­man of the Economic and Fi­nancial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in the alleged abuse.

While accusing the Nigeri­an government of corruption and sundry cases of gross vi­olation of human rights, the U.S. Senate Finance Com­mittee members urged the Trump administration to pause action until they are able to satisfy certain de­mands of the committee, un­der its oversight powers.

These demands were con­tained in an April 1, 2020 letter addressed by Senator Grass­ley to Ms. Deborah Connor, director of the Money Laun­dering and Asset Recovery Section at the Department of Justice, and sighted by Daily Independent.

Specifically, in the letter signed by Charles Grassley, the ranking senator lambast­ed the President Muhamma­du Buhari government for its alleged mistreatment of Omoyele Sowore, the pub­lisher of Sahara Reporters; its alleged nonchalance to­wards persecution of Nige­rian Christians; as well as its alleged unconscionable plan to re-loot the money when re­patriated.

“It is critical for Congress to understand what steps the United States government is taking, before it helps transfer hundreds of millions of dol­lars to Nigeria, to ensure that the money is not fueling more corruption and government abuses,” Senator Grassley stated.

Therefore, listing the said demand, the senator stated, “Please provide detailed writ­ten responses to the following, no later than April 23, 2020: “Please provide a copy of the agreement between the Unit­ed States, the Isle of Jersey, and Nigeria.

“After the money is trans­ferred, what oversight mech­anism, if any, will ensure that Nigeria is acting in good faith in accordance with the agree­ment facilitated by the United States and the Isle of Jersey? If none, please explain why not and what steps the United States could take before trans­mitting the funds to ensure proper oversight.

“What enforcement mech­anism exists, if any, to recoup funds that are not spent in ac­cordance with the agreement? If none, please explain why not and what steps the United States could take before trans­mitting the funds to ensure that the agreement can be enforced. The funds are sup­posed to be earmarked for spe­cific infrastructure projects, but what safeguards, if any, prevent Nigeria from using the funds to pay contractors with a history of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) or similar viola­tions? If none, please explain why not.

“Has the Nigerian govern­ment identified the contrac­tors to be used on the proj­ects, and if so, has the United States determined whether the firms have a history of FCPA or other violations? If not, please explain why not.