Published March 15, 2021
Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja
A human rights lawyer , Mr Femi Falana , says the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd .) , has consistently said former Head of State , Gen . Sani Abacha, never stole and yet Buhari uses Abacha ’s recovered loot to implement projects.
He , therefore , argued that the Delta State Government could not be denied the billions recovered from its former Governor , James Ibori, just because the state government once said Ibori never stole .
Falana said, “ No doubt , the former Delta State Government was irresponsible to have denied that Chief Ibori looted the treasury of the state at the material time . But such denial cannot be a justification for the confiscation of the Ibori loot of over £ 100 m that is expected to be repatriated to Nigeria by the British Government .
“ After all , before his assumption of office as President in May 2015 , General Muhammadu Buhari had repeatedly maintained that the late General Sani Abacha did not steal a dime from the account of the Federal Government .
“ But the Federal Government , under the President ’ s watch , has continued to recover the remaining Abacha loot and no one has suggested that such recovered loot be paid to the account of the United Nations or African Union on moral grounds . ”
Falana , who is the interim Chairman , Alliance on Surviving COVID -19 and Beyond , said the Federal Government through the Attorney -General of the Federation, Michael Aondoakaa , also challenged the investigation of Ibori in the United Kingdom in 2009 .
In a statement titled , ‘How FG Frustrated Ibori ’ s Trial in the UK ’ , Falana said it was funny that the same government could claim ownership of the over £ 4 . 2 m ( N 2 . 2 bn ) being repatriated .
The senior advocate noted that Aondoakaa said the UK ’s decision to probe Ibori was an insult to Nigeria ’s sovereignty .
He said , “ It is on record that the Federal Government openly opposed the trial of Chief Ibori in the United Kingdom. In fact, in utter breach of the provisions of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, the then Attorney -General of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa ( SAN) rejected the request to make relevant documents available for the trial in the UK on the grounds of sovereignty .
“ In particular , Chief Aondoakaa refused to entertain the request of the UK Metropolitan Police and made under bilateral mutual assistance to Nigeria on the grounds that the request was not made by the Home Office . ”
The activist said the court judgment being relied on by the Federal Government to cheat the Delta State Government of the Ibori loot was based on a different matter.
He said the case involved the £ 15 m bribe offered to the then Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , Nuhu Ribadu , adding that the Judge , Gabriel Kolawole , only stated that the £ 15 m be forfeited to the Federal Government and not all future recovered loot .