Tag Archives: ABACHA

Abacha ‘saved’ Nigeria’s funds abroad to buy arms for peacekeeping – Bamaiyi

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Ishaya Bamaiyi, a former chief of army staff, says Sani Abacha, former military head of state, transferred money to some European countries to enable Nigeria buy arms and ammunition for peacekeeping missions in the West African region.

According to ForeFront, Bamaiyi said this in his book ‘Vindication of a General’ which was launched on Thursday.

He said that the country at the time was abandoned by its western allies and there was need for Nigeria to keep playing its peacekeeping roles in the region.

The former chief of army staff explained that this informed the decision to transfer funds to “a bit friendly” countries so arms and ammunition could be bought.

“The subject of money supposedly looted by the late General Abacha is a key issue in Nigeria’s diplomatic relationship with many Western countries. I am not in a position to defend Abacha or suggest he did not tamper with the wealth of Nigeria, because I was not in a position to know how as a Head of State he handled Nigeria’s funds,” it read.

“I am however in a position to say what I know led to the transfer of funds to some countries in Europe and may be other countries outside Europe. It is a known fact that Nigeria was virtually abandoned by some of its traditional Western allies during the Abacha government and it became difficult for the country to purchase arms and ammunition to conduct operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone at that time, especially after the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa.

“In the light of the increasingly battered international image of Nigeria and even references to Nigeria in academic circle as a ‘rogue’ state, some decisions had to be taken if Nigeria was to continue to play its role as a stabiliser in the West African region, a role very much valued by the United Nations.

“A decision was therefore reached to keep money in some countries that were a bit friendly to Nigeria. This decision was taken at a meeting in which the then Minister of Finance, Chief Anthony Ani, was present. It was agreed that some funds be transferred to some selected countries to ensure that government was in a position to get vital imports as and when necessary.

“That informed the transfer of funds to some countries. I am glad that Chief Anthony Ani, the then finance minister, once tried to explain this in a newspaper interview publication.”

He said the importation of the said arms also put him in conflict with security operatives as they thought that he wanted to overthrow the Abacha regime.

“I was then out of Lagos and the contractors contacted me and told me what was happening. I told them not to worry and should not answer any question,” he said.

“I believe that the security operatives contacted General Abacha who must have told them that he approved the purchase of the ammunition. No one ever asked me or talked to me about this issue till I retired from service.”

 

Source: The Cable

Nigeria may lose $550 million Abacha loot to U.S. – PACAC

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The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, has raised an alarm on the enormous amount of Nigeria’s asset laundered abroad.

The committee called on the press and Nigerians in the Diaspora to join in advocating the return of the asset.

The Chairman of PACAC, Itse Sagay, on Thursday at a press briefing on asset recovery and asset return jointly organised by the committee and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, said that Nigeria stands to lose another $550 million recovered from the Sani Abacha family, contrary to the earlier promise by the United States to return the loot to Nigeria.

“Between 1960 and 1999 when the country returned to democratic rule for instance, over $400billion was stolen by public officers and laundered outside the country. Money stolen by Abacha’s family alone and stashed away in foreign country was estimated to be about 2-3 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP for every year that Abacha was president.

“At the time of his death, Abacha’s assets were allegedly worth over $4 billion. These funds are just a fraction of Nigeria’s stolen wealth stashed away in foreign countries which can be traced”, Mr. Sagay said.

Mr. Sagay added that Nigeria’s demand for immediate return of stolen funds in foreign countries could not be more timely, as the country struggles with recession, reduced income from petroleum products, and with millions of internally displaced persons representing the victims of corruption.

“Any return will go a long way in helping Nigeria resolve the myriad of challenges it is confronted with.”

The SSA to the President on Foreign Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said there is a huge difference between asset recovery and asset return, stressing that the person who steals is same as the person who refuses to return what was stolen.

“America has over $400million Nigerian money in its coffers, we should join hands in demanding the return of this money. It is against the UN Convention on Corruption, so we should ensure that whatever belongs to Nigeria should be returned. It is our fight, not just Buhari’s fight”, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said.

Also speaking, the chief of staff to the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Olaolu Koyede, said that prevention is the best way to fight corruption.

“We are still talking about Abacha loot, which is up to 20 years. Our take is that we need to strengthen our internal capacity so that these monies won’t be looted and moved away.

“The moment the money is moved out of the country, it changes form and becomes very difficult to be returned”, Mr. Koyede added.

One of the issues believed to have been discussed by President Muhammadu Buhari and the visiting U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, during a closed-door meeting in August last year was the return of outstanding money looted by late military dictator, Sani Abacha.

However, Nigeria stands the risk of forfeiting a hefty N218.3 billion ($550 million) already recovered from Mr Abacha’s estate if a suit filed by an American-based Nigerian lawyer against the Nigerian government in a United States federal court is not quickly resolved.

Texas-based attorney, Godson Nnaka, who was contracted by the Nigerian government in 2004 to help find and recover the funds siphoned by Mr Abacha and his associates, has asked the court to appoint him a private attorney of the fund as well as award him 40 per cent of the recovered fund. He claimed he made the request in line with United States law.

In 2004, Mr. Nnaka approached the Olusegun Obasanjo administration with a proposal to help find and recover money stolen by Mr Abacha.

The Attorney-General of the Federation at the time, Akinlolu Olujimi, in a November 25, 2004 letter, instructed Mr. Nnaka “to proceed in a professional manner to recover the funds on behalf of the country.

“Government will only pay for your professional services a percentage as may be agreed for any sum actually recovered,” the letter added.

In a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2015, Mr. Nnaka said he carried out the task. He claimed he hired a group of lawyers, financial consultants, and academics across the world to help identify and trace the funds.

He also said he travelled to France, England, Switzerland, Angola, Turkey, and Austria, to meet with government officials, law enforcement agents and financial experts with the aim of finding and securing the funds.

Six die of Cholera after eating Abacha in Lagos

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Six persons have died of cholera in Isolo Local Council of Lagos State after allegedly eating Abacha, a local delicacy.

Commonly called African salad, Abacha, is a delicious Nigerian meal that is native to Igbos. It is prepared from dried, shredded and fermented cassava, leaves of garden egg, stockfish, castor bean, palm oil and local spices.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, confirmed the deaths yesterday at a press conference.

Idris told journalists: “The ministry was notified of an upsurge of diarhhoea diseases in some communities in Isolo Local Council Development Authority (LCDA).

“Following this, 45 cases were line-listed by the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry. Six deaths were recorded among the 45 cases. Majority of the cases did not present with the classical rice-water stool, rather they presented with atypical diarrhoea and vomiting.

“Ano-rectal swabs were collected from 15 cases and taken to the Central Public Health Laboratory, Yaba, Lagos. Initially, there were no growths, however, continuous culture yielded Vibro cholerae from seven out of the 15 samples. The Vibrio cholera was later confirmed to be Ogawa strain.

“The main suspected source of infection is the salad called Abacha, a staple food of Isolo residents and adjoining local councils. Some domestic wells within the communities are also suspected. Samples of the Abacha salad and well water were collected and sent to the Lagos State Drug Quality Control Laboratory for analysis.

“The report of the analysis revealed the presence of Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella species and Escherichia coli in abacha and one of the two well water samples,” he said.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cholera is an acute diarrhoea disease with or without vomiting caused by bacteria referred to as Vibro cholerae and it is transmitted through ingestion of food or water contaminated with infective faeces.

Food or water contamination is usually due to poor sanitation and the source of contamination is usually other cholera cases when their infective watery stool gets into food or drinking water supplies.

Prevention of cholera can be achieved through basic water sanitation, such as boiling water of unclean sources. Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated.

The commissioner, however, said the state has instituted measures towards quick containment and control of the outbreak.

Idris explained: “Our health workers are in the community striving assiduously towards quick containment and control of spread of the disease. Chlorination of water supply has been intensified, awareness campaign is on-going and cases are been promptly diagnosed and appropriately managed in our hospitals.”

Other prevention and control measures instituted by the state government include: Identifying the three vendors of contaminated Abacha at Cele Bus Stop; ban on sale and caution in eating of Abacha when not prepared by you; and distributing factsheets on cholera to the Medical Directors of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and 26 General Hospitals in Lagos State and Medical Officers in all the 57 LGAs/LCDAs for circulation to all health workers in their facilities.

The commissioner advised the general public to take the following precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease: Wash your hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly especially after using the rest room; boil water before drinking, especially if you are not sure of the source; keep all cooking utensils, plates, cutleries, cups and other materials clean before and after use.

Others are cover foods and water sources; cook foods adequately; store foods in fridges; wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly; dispose of waste materials appropriately; and limit body contact, especially hand contact with faeces.

Abacha, Abiola Were Killed By Same ‘Forces’- Al-Mustapha

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Former chief security officer (CSO) to the late head of state, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, yesterday defended his late boss, General Sani Abacha, insisting that the late head of state did not loot the nation’s treasury as being reported.

He also described President Muhammadu Buhari as an honest and dedicated person who deeply loved the country.

Speaking with the media in Lagos yesterday, Al-Mustapha said that most of the funds recovered in different parts of the world were kept there by the Abacha government in anticipation of sanctions likely to be imposed on the country by the international community.

Al-Mustapha insisted that a stakeholder meeting took place in Abuja involving traditional rulers, key politicians and senior members of the Abacha cabinet where it was agreed to keep some money abroad so that the country will stay afloat when the expected sanctions eventually came.

“General Sani Abacha served this country for four years and seven months and during that period, he stepped on many toes. Aside the two or three coup plots that were made known to the public, there were several others that were not made known.

“These collaborators with some members of the international community were bent on removing him from office. General Abacha is dead today but those powerful forces are yet to forgive him. While alive, General Abacha’s enemies teamed up with the international community and they threatened to impose sanctions on the country.

“There was a meeting in Abuja where it was agreed that money should be kept outside the shores of the country so that when sanction came, that money will keep Nigeria afloat. Tom Ikimi was the foreign affairs secretary then.

“At that time oil was selling for seven or eight dollars. We took no loan to run the economy and that was when we also created the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). I was embarrassed while in prison and I heard about what people called ‘Abacha Loot’. I wrote from prison to the late Abacha family to publish and make public whether those monies were in his name, date of lodgements before he became head of state or after he became head of state.

“I was at the meeting where the decision was taken but because all of us could not leave the Villa, I had to go back before the meeting ended. Like I said, Abacha stepped on toes and those people have still not forgiven him even in death.

“You should also remember that Abacha was not traveling out of the country. At the beginning of his administration he did go to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and perhaps one or two other countries and that was in 1994. Most of his travels were within Africa, so how was he able to stash such money outside the shores of the country?

“While as his CSO, the only bank account I had was with the Bank of the North and that was where my salary was paid. I went to the Army to serve my country and not to make money as I came from a well-to-do family,” he said.

Al-Mustapha pleaded with Nigerians to give him time to conclude all the court cases involving him and the federal government, just as he promised to reveal what actually took place on the day the late General Abacha died.

Credit: Leadership

FG Targets N150bn Abacha, Ibori Loots

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The Attorney General of the Federation and Minster of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, on Tuesday, disclosed plans by the Federal Government to engage acclaimed consultants in its bid to recover another $750m looted and stashed away by a former Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

 

 

He stated that another £6.9m loot, held by a former Governor of Delta State, Mr. James Ibori, would also be recovered.

 

 

The minister, who spoke on the government’s plans when he met with the House of Representatives Committee on Justice, added that the country’s judgment debts stood at N75bn.

 

 

The federal government will appoint a foreign lawyer in its effort to recover a total of N150 billion stashed abroad by late former Head of State, General Sani Abacha and former Delta state governor, James Ibori.

 
Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami announced this in Abuja yesterday while testifying before the House of Representatives committee on Justice.

 

 
He said the money was made up N148. Billion ($750 million) allegedly laundered by Abacha and N1. 98 billion (£6.9 million) by Ibori.

 
Malami said the government would “engage in an aggressive policy” to seek the cooperation of foreign governments to “ensure the repatriation of illicitly-acquired assets.”

 

 

According to him, “The collaboration will equally involve the engagement of foreign-based counsel to attend to the matters on behalf of the Federal Government.

 

 
“Low-hanging fruits being targeted in this initiative include $750m of the ‘Abacha Loot’ as well as the sum of GBP6.9m of the ‘Ibori loot.’”

 
The ministry would be in the position to coordinate the recovery of billions of dollars in foreign jurisdictions based on current estimations, he said.

 
Late Abacha, who ruled Nigeria between 1993 and 1998, allegedly laundered about $5 billion abroad, according to Transparency International.

 
Liechtenstein agreed to return $227 million in June 2014, while the U.S. froze some $458m hidden by Abacha in bank accounts. Switzerland had in the past returned about $700 million and promised to return another $380m.

 

 

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in August, 2014, that it would repatriate about $480 million to Nigeria.

 

 
Part of the returned funds budgeted for purchase of arms was allegedly diverted by top officials of the immediate past administration, which resulted in the ongoing arms probe, involving former National Security Adviser (NSA) Rtd Col Sambo Dasuki and top military officers.

 

 
Some European countries like Britain have now set conditions for the return of stolen funds to Nigeria.

 
As for former Delta State governor, Ibori, (1999 to 2007), who is currently serving a jail term in the United Kingdom for money laundering, he is said to have helped himself with public funds to the tune of over £30 million among others.

 

 
Only last week, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the return of stolen Nigerian funds moved to that county.

 
He said, the ministry would rely on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 (ACJA) and the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2013 to ensure expeditious prosecution of those accused of terrorism.

 

 
He said based on the criminal justice law, the ministry had so far recovered 8,000 files from the Nigeria Police to be prosecuted by the ministry’s in-house lawyers.

 
He added that the ministry was currently processing about 800 terrorism cases for prosecution, saying the funds required for the successful prosecution of the cases as well as the general coordination of the criminal justice sector “were fully captured” in the ministry’s budget proposal.

 
He said the ministry would remain committed to the promotion and defence of constitutional values and principles in governance.

 

 
On the ministry’s 2016 budget proposal, he said the ministry needed an additional N960.888 million for harmonization of salaries of state counsel in order to bring them relatively at par with their counterparts in states’ ministries of justice and other institutions within the justice sector.

 

 
To this end, he said, provision of N300,000 was made as annual ‘robe allowance’ to each state counsel in line with practice.

 

 

Credit: Daily Trust

I Transferred $322m Abacha Loot To Dasuki – Okonjo-Iweala

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A former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday said she transferred $322m (N64.148bn) from the looted funds recovered from the former Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha, to the Office of the National Security Adviser for military operations in the North-East.

The ex-minister, in a statement by her Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, said the transfer of the fund was approved after a committee, set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan, gave approval for the use of the fund.

She explained that based on the decision of the committee, she personally requested that part of the recovered fund be used for security operations while the rest be channelled to developmental purposes.

The minister stated that she decided to release the amount to the ONSA following various accusations from some quarters that she was starving the military of funds to prosecute the war on terrorism.

There was a report on Wednesday that the former minister diverted N61.4bn from the Abacha loot to the office of the former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

Okonjo-Iweala was reported to have written a letter to Jonathan requesting the transfer of the fund to the NSA office.

The former finance minister had, last week, said she had nothing to do with the $2.1bn arms probe.

Responding to a statement by the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, the ex-finance minister had said she had “absolutely nothing” to do with the arms purchase scam.

But the statement by Nwabuikwo explained that as captured in the memo, Okonjo-Iweala insisted that the fund be deployed after satisfying three conditions.

The statement reads in part, “As part of the campaign of falsehood against the former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala by Edo Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and other powerful and corrupt interests, another baseless story has been published by some online media.

“To achieve their evil propaganda objective of tarnishing her name, these evil elements have distorted the contents of a memo, dated January 20, 2015, in which the former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, responded to a request by the former National Security Adviser, Col. Ibrahim Dasuki (retired), for funds to prosecute the terror war against Boko Haram.

“The central responsibility of the Minister of Finance is to find sources of funding for the financing of approved national priorities such as security, job creation and infrastructure.

“It will be recalled that throughout 2014, there were public complaints by the military hierarchy to President Goodluck Jonathan about the inadequacy of funds to fight the anti-terror war in the North-East, resulting in Boko Haram making gains and even taking territories.

“A lot of the criticism was directed at the Federal Ministry of Finance under Dr Okonjo-Iweala, which was accused of not doing enough to find funds for the operations.”

She added, “It was about this time that some new Abacha funds of about $322m were returned with another $700m still expected to be returned.

“Former President Jonathan set up a committee, comprising the former Minister of Justice, former NSA and the former Minister of Finance to determine how best to use both the returned and expected funds for development.

“The NSA made a case for using the returned funds for urgent security operations, since, she noted, there could not be any development without peace and security.

“Based on this, a decision was taken to deploy about $322m for the military operations, while the expected $700m would be applied to development programmes as originally conceived.

“Following the discussions and based on the urgency of the NSA’s memo, Dr Okonjo-Iweala requested the President to approve the transfer of the requested amount to the NSA’s Office for the specified purposes.”

The statement said the attempt to link the ex-minister’s name to any misuse of these funds for any purpose other than security “is totally false and cannot stand.”

Okonjo-Iweala must be arrested, insists Oshiomhole

Meanwhile, Oshiomhole has said the Federal Government must make sure that the ongoing investigation into arms deals under the past administration is total by ensuring that all those involved in what he called “the chain of conspiracy” are dealt with decisively.

Specifically, the governor called for the arrest and prosecution of Okonjo-Iweala, arguing that there was no way money could have been taken from the nation’s treasury without her knowledge.

Oshiomhole spoke with State House correspondents on Wednesday shortly after he met behind closed-doors with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said the government could not afford to be selective in the probe because in criminal law, all those involved must be charged with conspiracy.

He said Okonjo-Iweala, who was also the Coordinating Minister of the Economy under former President Goodluck Jonathan, could not be coordinating “a corruption-ridden economy” and be pretending to be an angel.

Oshiomhole argued that if a Minister of Finance endorsed documents to ensure the release of funds, it was the responsibility of the government official to also ensure that the money was spent on the purpose for which it was released.

The governor said, “I am not shocked at the revelations from the arms probe. I have just told some people that the government has to go the whole hog because I know as a governor that no money gets out of the treasury even after I have approved as the governor without the commissioner of finance. That is the procedure.

I Left N287bn Abacha Loot in Treasury – Obasanjo

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said he left in the national treasury over N287bn, made up of $2bn, £100m and N10bn in cash and property, being the loot recovered from the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha.

Obasanjo left office as President in 2007 after serving two terms of eight years and handed over to the now late former President Umaru Yar’Adua.

The N287bn figure was arrived at using an average exchange rate of N125.88 to a dollar in 2007 and
an average exchange rate of N247.99 to a pound in the same year.

The former President said the funds were paid into the treasury through the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Obasanjo’s revelation was contained in the Vol. II of his memoir, My Watch. His take on the Abacha loot is slotted under the sub-heading “Recovery of looted funds” on pages 494 and 495.

He said:

 “In total, by the time I left government in May 2007, over $2bn and £100m had been recovered from the Abacha family abroad, and well over N10bn in cash and properties locally. All were paid to the public treasury through the Central Bank.

“Enrico (Monfrini, a Swiss lawyer) told me by the time I left government that if he continued to get support for his work, there was still about $1bn he believed he could still recover from the Abacha family and cronies.”

The former President said that there was a time he got a report that £3m cash was seized from an agent of the late military dictator by customs officials at an airport in UK and that the British authorities asked the Nigerian government to prove ownership of the money.

He said the British government however refused to release the money to Nigeria despite showing details that it was taken from the CBN.

“I went to London to have a meeting on another important issue with (former British Prime Minister) Tony Blair and I took the opportunity to raise the issue of the £3m, using the Yoruba anecdote of the thief who stole palm oil from the ceiling cupboard by getting somebody to help him so as not to spill the red palm oil on himself or the floor. The man who assisted became an accomplice. Tony got the message and the £3m was released to Nigeria the following day,” Obasanjo stated.

A former finance minister in the Obasanjo administration, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, told The PUNCH last year through her Special Adviser on Communication, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, that contrary to reports that the sum of $2bn was recovered from the Abacha’s loot, only $500m was recovered under her as Obasanjo’s finance minister.

The minister made the clarification amid differing figures on the actual amount recovered.

For example, the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had in November 2006, in London, said Abacha looted over $6bn from Nigeria and that $2bn of the loot had been recovered.

He mentioned same figure in the same month during the 12th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Guatemela and later in Dakar, Senegal, at the 2nd Annual High Level Dialogue on Governance and Democracy in Africa.

Buhari Will Not Probe Obasanjo, IBB, Abacha’s Govt, Only GEJ’s – Presidency

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The presidency says President Buhari will only be probing the immediate past administration and will not probe past administrations of Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha and others. Speaking to newsmen, the special adviser to the president on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina says that President Buhari had stated during his campaign that his probe will only be limited to the immediate past administration.

“If you recall, that was already settled before he got inaugurated as president. He has said he will not waste time digging into the far past. The far past will includes Obasanjo and others. But the president has said he will not waste time to go that far.”he said

Former President Jonathan had stated before leaving office that any probe focused on his administration will only amount to witch-hunting.

How Babangida, Abacha, Obasanjo Shared Nigeria’s Oil Wells- Obinna Akukwe

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The process of sharing Nigeria’s oil block national cake is as fraudulent now as when Ibrahim Babangida started the process of discretionary allocation of oil blocks to indigenous firms. Discretionary allocation of oil blocks entails that a president can reward a mistress who performs wonderfully with an oil block with capacity for cumulative yield of over $20 billion dollars without recourse to any process outside of manhood attachments. Babangida, Abacha, Abdulsalami and Obasanjo awarded discretionary oil blocks to friends, associates, family members, party chieftains, security chiefs and all categories of bootlickers, spokespersons and cult members without any laid down procedures.

The recipients of such oil blocks will get funds from ever willing offshore financiers and partners to graciously settle the benefactors, the awarders, facilitators and the Commander-in-Chief through fronts. These settlements mostly paid into foreign accounts runs into hundreds of millions of dollars according to the potential yield of the block. Sometimes, the awarder (sharer of national cake and direct intermediaries) demand additional stakes in the bidding company. The awarder sends fronts as part of the directorship and management of the bidding firms without leaving a link to them. That is how the oil block national cake is distributed to a few Nigerians.

Signature bonuses which are paid when an investor successfully bids, wins and signs agreement with the petroleum ministry, running into tens of millions and sometimes hundreds of millions of naira ,is often waived off. There is actually no waiver; rather a diversion of what would have been paid to government t coffers is paid into private purse as appreciation gifts. That is why those in the Petroleum Ministry dread retirement as though it signifies going to hell fire. No matter how little your influence, something substantial must enter your hands especially in hard currency. The nation loses billions of dollars in diverted revenue whenever any round of auction occurs.

OML 110 with high yield OBE oil fields was given Cavendish Petroleum owned by Alhaji Mai Daribe, the Borno Patriarch in 1996 by Sanni Abacha. OBE oil field has estimated over 500 million barrels of oil. In layman’s language and using average benchmark of $100 dollars per barrel, translates to $50 billion dollars worth of oil reserve. When you remove the taxes, royalties and sundry duties worth about 60% of the reserve payable over time you get about $20billion dollars worth of oil in the hands of a family.

OPL 246 was awarded to SAPETRO, a company owned by General Theophilus Danjuma, by Sanni Abacha in 1998. Akpo condensate exports about 300,000 barrels of crude daily.

OML 112 and OML 117 were awarded to AMNI International Petroleum Development Company owned by Colonel Sanni Bello in 1999. Sanni Bello is an inlaw to Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Head of State of Nigeria.

OML 115, OLDWOK Field and EBOK field was awarded to Alhaji Mohammed Indimi from Niger State. Indimi is an inlaw to former Military President Ibrahim Babangida.

OML 215 is operated by Nor East Petroleum Limited owned by Alhaji Saleh Mohammed Gambo.

OML 108 is operated by Express Petroleum Company Limited is owned by Alhaji Aminu Dantata.

OML II3 allocated to Yinka Folawiyo Pet Ltd is owned by Alhaji W.I. folawiyo.

ASUOKPU/UMUTU marginal oil fields is operated by Seplat Petroleum. Seplat is owned by Prince Nasiru Ado Bayero, cousin to the Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi. This oil field has the capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil daily. This translates to $30million dollars daily at average benchmark of $100 dollars per barrel. Deducting all sundry taxes, royalties etc , this field can yield $12billion dollars daily for the owners.

Intel owned by Atiku, Yarádua and Ado Bayero has substantial stakes in Nigeria’s oil exploration industry both in Nigeria and Principe and Sao Tome.
AMNI owns two oil blocks OML 112 and OML 117 which it runs Afren plc and Vitol has substantial stakes in oil blocks. Afren plc is operating EBOK oil fields in OML 67. Vitol lifts 300,000 barrels of Nigerian oil daily. Rilwanu Lukman, former OPEC Chairman has stakes in all these named three companies.

OPL 245 was awarded to Malabu Oil& Gas Company by Sanni Abacha. Dan Etete, Abacha’s oil minister owns Malabu Oil. In 2000, Vice President Atiku Abubakar convinced Obasanjo to revoke

OPL 245 given to Malabu Oil. Etete had earlier rejected Atiku’s demand for substantial stakes in the high yield OPL 245 and it attracted the venom of Ota Majesty who revoked the licence. However, in 2006, Obasanjo had mercy on Dan Etete and gave him back his oil block worth over $20 billion dollars.

OPL 289 and OPL 233 was awarded during Obasanjo era to Peter Odili fronts, Cleanwater Consortium, consisting of Clenwater Refinery and RivGas Petroleum and Gas Company. Odili’s brother in law, Okey Ezenwa manages the consortium as Vice Chairman.

OPL 286 is managed by Focus Energy in partnership with BG Group, a British oil concern. Andy Uba has stakes in Focus Energy and his modus operandi is such that you can never see his name in any listings yet he controls OPL and OML through proxies.

OPL 291 was awarded to Starcrest Energy Nigeria Limited, owned by Emeka Offor by Obasanjo . Immediately after the award, Starcrest sold the oil block to Addax Petroleum Development Company Limited (ADDAX) Addax paid Sir Emeka Offor a farming fee of $35million dollars and still paid the signature bonus to the government. Emeka Offor still retains stake in ADDAX operations in Nigeria.

Mike Adenuga’s Conoil is the oldest indigenous oil exploration industry in Nigeria. Conoil has six oil blocks and exports above 200,000 barrels of crude daily.
The oil block national cake sharing fiesta could take twists according to the mood of the Commander-in –Chief at the particular time. In 2006, Obasanjo revoked OPL 246 which Abacha gave to Danjuma because he refused to support the tenure elongation bid of the Ota Majesty. In 2000, Obasanjo had earlier revoked OPL 241 given to Dan Etete under the advice Atiku. However, when the Obasanjo-Atiku faceoff started, the Ota Majesty made a u-turn and handed back the oil block to Etete.

During the time of Late President Yarádua , a panel headed by Olusegun Ogunjana was set up to investigate the level of transparency in the award of oil blocks. The panel recommended that 25 oil blocks awarded by the Obasanjo be revoked because the manner they were obtained failed to meet the best practices in the industry. Sadiq Mahmood, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum endorsed the report to then president with all its recommendations. As a result of the report Yarádua revoked eleven oil blocks.

In April 2011 Mike Adenuga attempted to buy Shell’s OML 30 for $1.2 billion dollars. The Minister for Petroleum and Nigeria’s most powerful woman refused the sale of the OML30 to Adenuga citing national interest. This block was later sold to Heritage Oil for $800 million dollars eleven months later.

This oil block business is so lucrative that Danjuma’s Sapetro divested of its investment in Akpo condensate for $1billion dollars. This business is second to none in Nigeria. That is why any attempt to investigate the activities in this sector will always be futile. The money is so much that they give bribes in millions of dollars. A birthday gift or child naming gift from an oil block owner to a government official could be as paltry as $2million dollars, and if the official’s father died, the condolence gift could reach mere $3 million dollars. When they want to bribe legislators, it is in millions of dollars and any ongoing investigation ends within weeks. They are so confident that with excess money they can buy up Nigeria and they are succeeding. In the name of competitive bidding, which Obasanjo introduced in 2005, Officials bring companies overnight and through processes best described as secretive and voodooist they award blocks to party faithful, fronts and phoney companies.

During the third term agenda, Obasanjo was deceived that the allocation of oil block to party faithfuls is to fund the third term agenda. With the failure of the third term, the beneficiaries went home with their fortunes and thanked God or Allah for buttering their bread. Senator Andy Uba co ordinate the award of the last rounds of oil block by Obasanjo in 2005 and 2007. The then minister of petroleum, Edwin Daukoru was a mere errand boy who took instructions from the presidential aide.

The regime of President Goodluck is not showing any signs of changing the status quo. Controversies have trailed the activities of the Minister of Petroleum and many players in the Industry accuse her of demanding stakes from every oil deal. It is hoped that President Goodluck Jonathan will remember his transformational promise to Nigerians and endeavour to face the hawks in the oil industry. The angst in the air is so much that if this monster of illegal allocation of oil block is not addressed, the much touted revolution could begin all of a sudden and all who condoned this illegality at the expense of hungry Nigerians may have nowhere to hide.

The religious leaders should tell these oil block beneficiaries, awarders, fronts, brokers and all involved in short changing the Nigerian people to find means or returning all these back to the Nigerian people, through massive development projects. The voice of impoverished Nigerians is crying daily and if care is not taken the God who delivered Nigeria from Abacha dark days will visit them with calamities untold. With the rot in this oil block awarding system and other loot all over the Nigerian nation, something worse than revolution may happen.

Credit: nigerianbulletin

$370 Million Abacha Loot Discovered In Luxembourg

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Switzerland Ambassador to Nigeria, Hans Rodulf Hodel, has revealed that $370 million loot belonging to the former Military Head of State, late Sani Abacha has been discovered in Luxembourg.

Hodel stated that Switzerland would be willing to assist Nigeria in reclaiming the money, once a formal request is made by the country’s authorities.

The ambassador made the disclosure on Monday, April 27, when he paid a congratulatory visit to Nigeria’s president-elect, General Mohammadu Buhari in Abuja, where he stated that the new monetary policies of Switzerland would discourage corrupt foreigners from dumping stolen funds in the country.

He said: “This is a long standing issue. Our laws are there to help all countries which are fighting corruption. We will help this government. If you remember, many years ago we gave back the Abacha money to Nigeria. The situation in Switzerland has changed. The policy is no longer the same. In the past, people came to deposit money in Switzerland without too much controversy.”

“Now, it is not possible to deposit money in Switzerland because of legal origin. Before the bank has to prove that the money is illegal. But now, before you deposit money in Swiss bank, you have to prove that you have earned that money legally.

“If you are a wealthy businessman, you have money in billions legally, but if, for example as a Journalist, you come to Switzerland with two million dollars and say you earned it because you did a very good job, nobody will believe you.

“There was another request by Nigeria to the Swiss authority to look for Abacha money and some amount, 370 million dollars, has been found in an account, but in Luxembourg. That is now between the Abacha family and the government. They have tried to find a deal so that this money can also come back.”

“The Swiss government is not involved. The Nigerian government has asked for legal assistance. When the government makes a request to my government, we work together on it. But this case is different. That is the Abacha family directly with the Nigerian government finding a deal.”

“So, the Swiss government is not involved and the money is in Luxembourg. They have asked for legal assistance and we have provided the with this information. If is not a classical case and we would have preferred a classical case where we can give the money back and make sure that if is used in the interest of the people. Now it is up to the Nigerian government.”

Source – ynaija.com

State Of Jersey To Return £315m Abacha Loot To Nigeria

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The State of Jersey, the biggest territory in the Channels Island, is set to return £315 million Abacha loot to Nigeria.

Mr Micheal Birt, the Ballif of Jersey stated this at a dinner in honour of Dr Dalhatu Tafida, Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK during a state visit to the Island.

Birt, who doubles as the Island’s Civic Head of State and ceremonial head, is the highest ranking official in the Jersey order of precedence.

Island, famous for its transparent banking services, had previously repatriated in two tranches £140 million of the loot.

Late Sani Abacha

The Europe correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports in London that the money was laundered on behalf of Abacha by Mr Raj Bhojwani, an Indian businessman. Bhojwani is currently serving an eight-year sentence in a UK prison.

Speaking on Jersey’s financial services and global perception of the Island, Birt said that the repatriated loot was in line with ongoing campaign against money laundering.

He said: “We have done a lot to clean up the image of the Island as a safe haven for stolen wealth. What we have in place is a transparent and legal finance heaven where only legal funds can be deposited and accessed by investors.”

Source – Vanguard NGR

10 Things You Need To Know This Morning #NewsBits

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Good morning! Here are 10 things you need to know this morning:

1. The Police yesterday disrupted a peaceful protest against incessant Boko Haram killings in the north. The protest was staged by a coalition of youth group under the umbrella of Arewa Liberation Movement in Kaduna. Some journalists covering the protest were assaulted by the anti-riot policemen mobilized to the scene. The march started at about 8:30am at the popular Lugard Hall Roundabout.

2.Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, has compared President Goodluck Jonathan’s reign with that of the biblical king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, describing Jonathan as a President that patronizes impunity. Soyinka in paper presentation in Lagos discussed Jonathan’s government and the current events in the country, using the title; “King Nebuchadnezzar – The Reign of Impunity.”

3. Crisis ensued at the Ebute Meta area of Lagos on Tuesday at the end of a primary election conducted for two candidates of the All Progressives Congress ? Oladele Adekanye (Lado) and Bashiru Oloto who are aspiring to grab the APC ticket to represent the Lagos Mainland Constituency 1 in the 2015 elections. Four youths were shot dead, while several others were wounded, as 20 vehicles were also vandalised in the ensuing violence.

4. The senators agitating for the impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan have agreed to begin the impeachment process on December 16. One of the Senators spearheading the move in the Senate, Senator Alkali Jajere, disclosed the latest plan on Tuesday in Abuja. He said that the Senators have agreed to commence the process on the said date.

5. The Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has alleged that some prison officials must have collaborated with the gunmen that invaded the Ado Ekiti federal prison, asking the Federal Government to investigate the Monday attack on the prison.

6. The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday cried out that the Department of State Service, SSS embarked on a second raid on the party’s data centre in Ikeja on Monday night. In a statement by the party through its Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, it said the action of the SSS was the height of lawlessness.

7. The First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, on Tuesday faulted media reports that she was imposing governorship candidates in some states ahead of the 2015 general elections. In her denial, Mrs Jonathan said she could not have performed such a role because she was not an elected official of the state nor a PDP official.

8. About £315 million Abacha loot would soon be returned to Nigeria by the State of Jersey, the biggest territory in the Channels Island. This was disclosed by Mr Michael Birt, the Bailiff of Jersey durig a dinner in honour of Dr Dalhatu Tafida, Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK during a state visit to the Island.

9. Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, yesterday, warned the Federal Government to desist from retrenching workers under the guise of austerity measures. The President of the Association and its General Secretary, Bobboi Bala Kaigama and Alade Bashir Lawal, in a statement said any attempt by government to sack workers or reduce their salaries would be resisted.

10. A man and his wife were knocked down and killed by a drunken driver in Ode Irele, Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State on Tuesday. Report says three of their grandchildren equally sustained various degrees of injuries as the car ran into them while they were in front of their house at Gbaleju area. The driver of the car, identified as Abisoye Wobo, was allegedly drunk and was returning from a burial ceremony.

Source – Daily Post NG

Nigerians Are Still Missing My Late Father” – Gumsu Abacha

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The first daughter of the late maximum ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha, has claimed that Nigerians still miss her father’s dictatorial leadership.

The late dictator’s daughter stated that she came to this conclusion after having closely monitored people’s comments on the trends of political events via the social media.

Pouring out her mind on her twitter page, she wrote “All of a sudden I miss my late father. And I realise that Nigerians miss his leadership everyday when I read people’s comments on social media.

“Whatever you think remains your opinion. He was a loving and caring father. He had a good heart. He was the best ever.

“Happy 54th Independence Day to all my Nigerian brothers and sisters. We shall keep rising! May our nation’s tomorrow be brighter, stronger, prosperous, and safer,”