Nigeria is expecting the return of $150 million stolen from the country by the former head of state, General Sani Abacha.
The French minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ms Catherine Colonna, disclosed this yesterday during her visit to President Bola Tinubu in the presidential villa, Abuja.
She said France was willing to return to Nigeria, the assets stolen by Abacha and his family
She said her country “will start discussions with the Nigerian administration in order to allocate the 150 million US dollars to development projects benefiting the population, according to the priorities of the Nigerian government.”
“I had the great honour of being received by President Bola Tinubu. Our discussion focused on the state of our bilateral partnership, as well as major regional and global crises. I thanked him for taking part in the Summit on a New Global Financing Pact that we hosted in Paris in June, 2023. More broadly, I acknowledged the irreplaceable role of Nigeria in global governance.
“I also informed President Tinubu that in response to the request submitted by the Nigerian federal ministry of justice, and in agreement with the US administration, France will return to Nigeria, the assets stolen from the Nigerian people by General Sani Abacha and his family that have been frozen in France since 2021,” she added.
She said the repatriation of the looted fund followed the completion of legal processes.
“It was a long process, but we are glad that it was concluded. Sometimes, justice may be slow, but this is a very good achievement,” she added.
Asked why France was repatriating the money in the form of grants, Colonna said “it is part of the agreement that was reached between Nigeria and the family of former President Abacha.
However, she said the interesting thing is that the money would go to the Nigerian population through grants that will be picked and identified together between the French and Nigerian governments
For his part, Tinubu expressed his appreciation to France for the return of the Abacha loot.
He also acknowledged the signing of a €100 million agreement between Nigeria and France to support the i-DICE programme.
The i-DICE is the Nigerian government’s initiative to promote investment in Information and communications technology (ICT) and creative arts industries.
The agreement was signed by the minister of communications, innovation and digital technology, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani and Colonna at an earlier event held at the ministry of foreign affairs.
President Tinubu commended the strengthening of bilateral relations between Nigeria and France, noting that this progress followed his visit to Paris after his inauguration.
“Thank you for the good news on the return of Abacha loot. We appreciate your effective cooperation concerning the return of Nigeria’s money. It will be judiciously applied in attaining our development objectives,” the president said.
Tinubu emphasised the need to reinforce collaboration on both political and economic fronts and welcomed the growing cooperation between the two countries in areas of shared interest, such as climate change, economic integration, education, and culture.
On the situation in Niger Republic, the president informed the minister that Nigeria was monitoring the situation in that West African country and exploring diplomatic channels to avoid bloodshed.
“Leadership is about responding to the needs of the people; their cries, and their frustrations. Nigeria shares a border with Niger across the expanse of seven Nigerian states, and most of these states are very populated. Therefore, I need to guide ECOWAS carefully and steadily so that we manage our anger carefully.
“We have a colleague and a democratically-elected leader, President Bazoum, being used as a human shield. If we are not careful, he and his family can be endangered.
“I am deploying all appropriate back-channel strategies to avoid bloodshed in Niger Republic. We recognize the wishes of our people; they do not want war, but that does not mean we cannot take bold and decisive action,” Tinubu said.
