The United States will return to Nigeria $23 million taken by former military ruler Sani Abacha, officials said at an event to sign the agreement on Tuesday.
Nigeria has reached several agreements to return stolen cash in recent years. Abacha ruled Africa’s most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998. During his tenure, Transparency International estimated that Abacha looted up to $5 billion of public money for which he was never charged.
According to Reuters, U.S. Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard said the cash was in UK accounts but was identified and frozen by U.S. officials. She added that including the latest deal, the United States had agreed to repatriate more than $334.7 million linked to Abacha.
Attorney General Abubakar Malami of Nigeria insisted the funds would be used for infrastructure projects, including the Abuja-Kano road, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the second Niger bridge under the supervision of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
“The president’s mandate to my office is to ensure that all international recoveries are transparently invested and monitored by civil society organizations to compete for these three projects within the agreed timeline,” said Malami.
The U.S. Justice Department has previously insisted that Nigeria must use funds repatriated from billions looted by Abacha on mutually agreed public projects or be forced to “replace” it.
