US Set To Repatriate Looted $8.9m To Nigeria

United States (US) is set to repatriate about $8.9 million in assets to Nigeria after a Royal Court in Jersey, ruled that stolen assets worth $8.9 million be returned.

The order of the Royal Court in Jersey followed a forfeiture notice to the court by Jersey’s attorney- general, Mark Temple.

Temple said the government of Jersey was in close partnership with Nigeria on the repatriation of the funds.

He said part of the funds were shared with family members of politicians in the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2015 general election.

According to him, “This case again demonstrates the effectiveness of the 2018 Forfeiture Law in recovering the proceeds of corruption and restoring that money to victims of crime.

“I now intend to negotiate an asset return agreement with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said the court ruled that the money, deposited in a Jersey bank account, was likely stolen by officials in the Nigerian government in 2014.

It is most likely that the said assets were allegedly diverted in 2014 under the guise of purchasing arms to fight Boko Haram terrorists under the Goodluck Jonathan’s government.