BY DAYO ADESULU
Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on Tuesday stated that the recovered $308 million looted by the late former Head of State, General Sani Abacha would be spent on the construction of Lagos – Ibadan Expressway, Abuja – Kano Expressway and the Second Niger bridge.
Attorney-General of the Federation, while signing on behalf of the Nigerian government, made this which can be found on the website of the US Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria.
Malami’s statement: “As you are aware, the government of Nigeria has committed that the assets will support and assist in expediting the construction of the three major infrastructure projects across Nigeria.
“These projects are currently being executed under the supervision of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority as a public-private partnership (PPP).
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”It will boost economic growth and help alleviate poverty by connecting people and supply chains from the East to the West and to the Northern part of Nigeria, a vast area covering several kilometres with millions of the country’s population set to benefit from the road infrastructures.“
”This agreement has culminated in a major victory, for Nigeria and other African countries as it recognizes that crime does not pay and that it is important for the international community to seek for ways to support sustainable development through the recovery and repatriation of stolen assets.
“Without the commitment of the three parties to the Agreement (Nigeria, Jersey and the United States) and that of the legal experts and Attorneys representing Nigeria, it would have been impossible to achieve the success recorded today.”
Malami urged for greater cooperation and mutual respect amongst countries in the implementation of expeditious cooperation measures already set out in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and in the implementation of the GFAR principles on the repatriation of stolen assets.
Malami urged the civil society organizations and the Nigerian public to be involved in the monitoring of the implementation of the key infrastructure projects that will greatly enhance road transportation in the country.
