Identities of Persons Behind Recovered Loot Revealed as FG Opens Special Account for Refunds

Identities of Persons Behind Recovered Loot Revealed as FG Opens Special Account for Refunds

The federal government over the weekend released a list of amounts recovered from former government officials who allegedly looted the public treasury while in office. The list, which reflected huge sums in different currencies, all amounting to about N115 billion, came without the names of persons from whom these sums were recovered.

The Nation newspaper is however reporting that it was on Sunday able to “glimpse” a list of some of those behind the huge refund and that they include some politically exposed persons, ex-military chiefs and some of those involved in the $115million poll bribery scandal.

According to the newspaper, the recovered cash includes the following:

$3.1b from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) accounts (the money was paid to the oil giant by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited); $1m seized from a former Chief of Air Staff;  National Broadcasting Commission (N10,061,172,600); another Chief of Air Staff(N2.3b); an ex-presidential aide (N900m); a businessman (N750m); an ex-governor of Delta State ($15m); an ex-Chief of Staff and others (N420m); and an ex-Minister (N140m); an ex-Military Administrator  (N100m).

The $3.9billion includes the $15million seized from former Delta state Governor James Ibori, who is serving term in the United Kingdom.

Other components are about $3.1billion intercepted in the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG), which was yet to be moved to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in line with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.

Other recoveries were made from Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials in Oyo and Ogun (N359millon); a former minister (N2m); a former state speaker N1m and N580 million (£2 million) in jewelry, allegedly recovered from a former minister.

An official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is reported to have said that the agency would release the full identities of the persons behind the refunds as soon as it was legally convenient to do so, to avoid prejudicing ongoing trials.

The EFCC, it was gathered, may also invite a former governor of Akwa Ibom state for his alleged role in the disbursement of about N450million for election bribes, being the sum allocated to the state out of the N23.29billion allegedly facilitated by former minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Meanwhile, the federal government has opened a special account for the amounts recovered. The Punch reports that chairman of the presidential anti-corruption committee, Prof Itse Sagay said:

“An account has been set up for it and at an appropriate time, what is going to be done with the money will be made public. The amount that is available in that account will be announced and what will be done with the money will be publicly announced.”

The committee chairman added that the N1.9tn in cash and assets, listed as being under interim forfeiture cannot be accessed for the time being as they were still under legal contention and “the court can order the release to the owners if the occasion demands it but if it goes the other way, there will be a permanent forfeiture order.”