Daily Independent Online.
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Friday, July 02, 2004.
Recover looted funds from Jersey Island, Obasanjo directs
Justice minister
President Olusegun Obasanjo has mandated
the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Akin Olujimi, to follow-up
on negotiations to recover the nation’s looted funds starched away in
Jersey Island, located off the coast of the United Kingdom.
In December last year, the authorities in
that country indicated willingness to return some stolen funds believed to have
been kept there during the Gen. Sani Abacha regime.
Obasanjo was on a four-hour visit to the
Island on Wednesday, to negotiate
the recovery of the funds with that country’s authorities.
At the end of the meeting, the President
asked Olujimi to continue with the negotiations and also prepare all the legal
frameworks required to get the money back to Nigeria.
The president praised the authorities in
Jersey for their support for Nigeria’s loot recovery efforts and also
thanked them for their willingness to release funds hidden in their vaults.
Obasanjo said Nigeria had also received
encouragement and support from other western nations, including Switzerland in tracing and retrieving
ill-gotten wealth taken out of the country abroad.
He expressed the hope that the Federal
Government would receive similar support in the recovery of such funds hidden
in some other countries.
In attendance at the Jersey meeting were
Nigeria’s High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher
Kolade, the National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Mohammed and the
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
Earlier before leaving London for Jersey,
Obasanjo had received top level officials of the Commonwealth Secretariat led
by the Secretary-General, Don Mckinnon.
The president in his capacity as the
Commonwealth Chairperson in Office, discussed varying issues concerning member
countries.
He reiterated his commitment to the
achievement of global peace and his continuing efforts at the achievement of
sustainable development for all developing nations.
Obasanjo also received a British government
delegation led by Mr. Hillary Benn, Secretary for international development.
