LOOT ACCOUNT: The court has directed the Federal Government to provide a detailed account of the Abacha loot that has been recovered since 1999.

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A federal high court in Abuja has issued an order for the public disclosure of the expenditure details regarding the $5 billion Abacha loot. The judgment, delivered on July 3 by James Omotosho, the presiding judge, directed President Bola Tinubu to reveal the exact amount of money stolen by General Sani Abacha from Nigeria, the total amount recovered, and all agreements signed by the governments of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari in relation to the loot.

The suit, labeled FHC/ABJ/CS/407/2020, was filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). The court mandated the federal government, specifically the Ministry of Finance, to provide SERAP with comprehensive details of the spending related to the Abacha loot within seven days of the judgment. The court dismissed all objections raised by the federal government and upheld SERAP’s arguments, stating that the ministry’s inability to account for the requested details is not justified under Section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Furthermore, Omotosho ordered the government to disclose information regarding the projects executed using the Abacha loot, including their locations, as well as the names of companies and contractors involved in these projects from 1999 to the present day. The court also called for the disclosure of specific roles played by the World Bank and other partners in the implementation of projects funded by the Abacha loot under the administrations of former presidents Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, and Buhari.

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