Switzerland has given conditions for
repatriating $321m looted by a former military ruler, the late Gen. Sani
Abacha, to Nigeria.
Part of the conditions is that the fund
would be used for projects that would benefit Nigerians and they (the
projects) must be monitored by the World Bank.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama, said the government was working on the modalities for the repatriation.
Speaking shortly after holding a meeting
with the Swiss Foreign Minister, Didier Burkhalter on Tuesday in Abuja,
Onyeama explained that Nigeria had signed an agreement with the Swiss
government in the area of human rights and immigration.
He said, “It is $321mn that we are
looking at repatriating to Nigeria and the modalities are basically
legal framework for that; mutual legal assistance framework that we are
trying to put in place and there are pre-conditions that are also in
place already and these require monitoring mechanism.
“So, we have to agree beforehand as a
pre-condition on what the money would be used for and the World Bank
would be part of the monitoring process to ensure that the money is used
for the benefit of Nigerian people.”
The Minister stated that Burkhalter’s
visit was significant as it marked the commencement of the fund
repatriation process, noting that other looted funds might be uncovered
in hidden accounts in Swiss banks.
Burkhalter said his country and Nigeria
had a very constructive relation, adding that Switzerland planned to
open a consulate in Lagos that would boost economic relations between
the two countries.
He promised that his country would
repatriate the $321mn to Nigeria, pledging Switzerland’s continued
assistance to Internally Displaced Persons in the country.
Burkhalter added, “We would continue to
help in the humanitarian assistance in the North, for those who are
suffering and we would try to write another chapter of the history of
illicit asset recovery and restitutions from Switzerland to Nigeria.
“There is a history we had already; 10
years ago, we did restitution of the Abacha fund for $700m and now,
there is a possibility and already there is a decision in principle to
restitute another $321m and for the Swiss government, it is very
important to act swiftly, to act in a transparent way and act for the
good of the population of Nigeria.
“The decision of the prosecutor of
Geneva set a condition and this condition is monitoring mechanism by the
World Bank; if we sign a treaty, very swift and the possibility to
support social projects in Nigeria, with the monitoring of the World
Bank, the money would be restituted.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government on
Tuesday signed an agreement called ‘‘Letter of Intent’’ with the Swiss
government to facilitate the repatriation of the $321m.
This was contained in a statement by the
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity,
Mr. Laolu Akande.
He said the agreement was signed during a
meeting Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo had with a Swiss delegation, led
by Burkhalter and the Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Eric Mayoruz, at
the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He added that the Attorney General of
the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), signed the agreement on
behalf of the Federal Government while Burkhalter signed on behalf of
the Swiss government.
He explained that the agreement was on the restitution of illegally-acquired assets initially forfeited to Switzerland.
“Under the agreement, the Swiss
government will award to Nigeria $321m of funds illicitly acquired by
the Abacha family, initially deposited in Luxembourg and confiscated by
the Judiciary of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, pursuant to a
Forfeiture Order dated December 11, 2014,” the statement read.
While welcoming the offer to return the
stolen fund, Osinbajo said the Federal Government was developing a
framework that would aid the repatriation of such stolen assets.
He added that the framework would also ensure that the recovered funds were not re-looted.
“We guarantee that recovered assets would be put to uses for which they had been intended,” he said.
The Vice-President said the framework, once finalised, would be made public.
He said the document would cover the
whole spectrum from the source of the stolen asset to how it would be
managed once recovered.
“The framework will guarantee that returned assets will be used in the interest of the people of this country,” he added.
Commending the Swiss government on its
assistance in repatriating the country’s stolen assets, the
Vice-President said the Federal Government appreciated the Swiss
government for its laudable efforts.
He noted that the “Swiss has always been
at the forefront of returning stolen assets and ensuring that the
people of Nigeria get the benefits.”
No comments:
Post a Comment