The Federal Government may have agreed
to pay the Government of Switzerland $79m (N25.2bn) as part of
conditions for the repatriation of almost $400m (N128bn) recovered from
the family of the late military ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha.
The Chairman of the Civil Society
Network Against Corruption, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraj, said this during a
seminar to commemorate the 2016 International Anti-Corruption Day in
Abuja on Friday.
The event was jointly organised by
Nigerian anti-corruption agencies, the European Union, the United States
and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and had in attendance
senior diplomats and politicians.
It will be recalled that the Swiss
Ambassador to Nigeria, Eric Mayoraz, had said in July that his country
would return $321m out of the Abacha loot to Nigeria.
However, Suraj, who was a member of a
panel of discussants, said the original figure that was meant to be
returned to Nigeria was about $400m.
He said the Nigerian Government had secretly agreed to forfeit $79m as part of negotiations.
Suraj said this was disgraceful as the
Swiss Government was meant to pay Nigeria an interest instead of
dictating the terms of agreement.
He said, “Unfortunately, the government
goes to beg countries to get our money back rather than making demands,
we appeal for the money and beg them to return it. We are fed with half
information such that we even assume that we actually recover the amount
stolen.
“I had a very funny experience and it is
still ongoing. The $321m that the Swiss Government is meant to return
to Nigeria, we discovered three weeks ago that the original money was
about $400m. The legal process in Switzerland actually charged the
Nigerian Government about $79m and that is why we are receiving $321m.
“The $321m is now to be returned to
Nigeria with the condition that the World Bank will monitor how the
funds will be spent. I cannot imagine anything more insulting.”
Attempts to speak with the spokesperson
for the Swiss Embassy, Mr. Pascal Holliger, proved abortive as telephone
calls were not responded to while he had yet to respond to a text
message as of press time.
Also, an inquiry sent to the Office of the Attorney-General in Switzerland by email had yet to be responded to as of press time.
However, it will be recalled that the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Geoffrey Onyeama, had said in June that
the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo had paid the Swiss
Government over $100m as commission for the return of Abacha’s loot.
He had said, “If you remember the Abacha
loot in Switzerland at the time, Obasanjo’s government had to finally
agree to give them 10 per cent of the amount. This was about $100m and
so they returned $900m to Nigeria.
“If they (Swiss Government) had not
agreed and said they wanted to keep the whole money, it would have been
very difficult for us and that is why the anti-corruption summit and the
initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari is really focused on these
western countries to remove some of those barriers and lengthy
procedures that are in place and make it possible for these people to
delay (the payment).”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Mines and
Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has described fighting corruption
as a very expensive task.
He maintained that there was a need for the government to focus on crime prevention rather than crime fighting.
Fayemi, who spoke on the theme,
‘Corruption: An Impediment to the Sustainable Development Goals, said
Buhari, administration would promote transparency.
The Country Representative of the UNODC,
Cristina Albertin, lamented the high level of corruption in Nigeria and
other developing nations.
She said 37 per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product would be lost by 2030 if corruption wasn’t curbed.
A spokesperson for the Swiss Department
of Foreign Affairs, Noemie Charton, told our correspondent in an email
that he would find out the situation.
The message read, “Thank you for your
query. I have forwarded it to our colleagues in charge, and will get
back to you in the course of next week.”
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