You better Probe Okonjo-Iweala, Dasuki, Others, Over Diversion Of $4bn Abacha Loot - Falana Tells EFCC

A legal luminary and human rights activist, Mr
Femi Falana (SAN), has urged the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to
investigate how $4 billion recovered from former
military Head of State, the late GenSani Abacha
was spend by the federal government.
Specifically, Falana wants the EFCC to confirm
the actual amount recovered from the Abacha
loot by the federal government and the extent of
the criminal diversion of the said loot by the
former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala, former National Security Adviser (NSA),
Col. Sambo Dasuki and other suspects.
Falana made this request in a petition dated
December 18, 2015 and sent to the EFCC. A
copy of the petition was made available to
LEADERSHIP last night.
Speaking on the propriety of the probe, Falana
said, ''Unless the Abacha loot is fully accounted
for, the Buhari administration will find it difficult
to receive the cooperation of many governments
in the ongoing efforts to recover the stolen
wealth of the country.
''Following the death of Abacha on June 8,
1998, his successor, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar
ordered a probe into the looting of the Central
Bank of Nigeria from 1993-1998.
''At the end of the enquiry it was established
that the late dictator stole about $5billion from
the vaults of the CBN through his NSA, Mr.
Mohammed Gwazo. A substantial part of the
stolen fund has since been traced to over 140
bank accounts in Western countries and some
remote islands in the world.
''Based on report of the investigation the
Federal Government recovered $635 million, £75
million, DM 30 million and N9 billion as well as
several vehicles and properties in Abuja, Lagos
and Kano together with 40% interests in West
African Refinery in Sierra Leone.
''At page 495 of the second volume of his
book entitled 'My Watch', former President
Olusegun Obasanjo stated that '…by the time I
left office in May 2009 (sic), over $2billion and
£100 million had been recovered from the
Abacha family abroad, and well as N10 billion in
cash and properties locally.
''Under the Goodluck Jonathan administration,
the recovery efforts continued and over $1billion
was recovered.
''But in a desperate bid to cover up the gross
mismanagement and criminal diversion of the
Abacha loot, Okonjo-Iweala had repeatedly
maintained that only $500million had been
recovered by the federal government.
''To lend credence to the fraudulent claim, the
World Bank confirmed, in a reply to an enquiry
by SERAP, that the $500million recovered from
the loot had been judiciously spent on some
phantom development projects in several parts
of the country.
''But following the recent revelation by the
Premiumtimes that a substantial part of the loot
had been criminally diverted, Okonjo-Iweala
admitted that she transferred $322million from
the Abacha loot to Dasuki to prosecute the war
on terror.''