The federal high court sitting in Abuja has issued a ruling demanding transparency in the utilization of the $5 billion Abacha loot.
The judgment, delivered on July 3, instructed President Bola Tinubu to reveal the precise amount of money that was stolen by General Sani Abacha from Nigeria.
Additionally, the court ordered the disclosure of the total sum that has been recovered so far, as well as any agreements made by the previous administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari regarding the stolen funds.
This case was brought before the court by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), an organization dedicated to ensuring transparency and accountability in governance.
The court further directed the federal government, through the Ministry of Finance, to provide SERAP with a comprehensive breakdown of how the Abacha loot has been spent within a week of the judgment.
The court firmly dismissed the objections raised by the federal government and upheld SERAP’s arguments.
It emphasized that the Ministry of Finance’s claim of being unable to account for the requested details is unfounded, as it contradicts section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Consequently, Judge James Omotosho, who presided over the case, ordered the government to disclose not only the particulars of the projects executed using the Abacha loot, but also the locations of these projects.
Furthermore, the court demanded the government to disclose the names of the companies and contractors involved in carrying out these projects since the restoration of democracy in 1999 up to the present day.
Additionally, the court instructed the government to provide details regarding the specific roles played by the World Bank and other partners in the execution of any projects funded by the Abacha loot during the administrations of Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, and Buhari.
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