Nigeria has signed an agreement with the governments of the Island of Jersey and the United States for the repatriation of over $308 million looted by Sani Abacha, former head of state.
The sum was recovered in 2013 but the repatriation process was mired, following a lawsuit filed by the Abachas.
The agreement was signed on Monday by Mark Temple, the solicitor-general and attorney-general designate of Jersey on behalf of Jersey, Brian Benczkowski, a deputy assistant attorney on behalf of the United States, and Abubakar Malami, the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), on Nigeria’s behalf.
TheLagosTimes in January reported that the parties were set to sign the agreement.
“This Agreement represents the culmination of two decades of intensive work by law officers in Jersey, the United States and Nigeria. The return of the assets to Nigeria had been delayed by a number of hard-fought challenges by third parties which were defeated in the courts in Jersey and the United States,” Temple said.
He said the agreement establishes a framework based on fruitful cooperation, trust and respect so that the forfeited funds can be repatriated to benefit the people of Nigeria from whom they had been taken.