The disclosure of the expenditure details regarding the approximately USD$5 billion Abacha loot recovered by the governments of former Nigerian presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari has been mandated by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
In its ruling, the court directed the government of President Bola Tinubu to provide comprehensive information concerning the precise amount of money embezzled by General Sani Abacha from Nigeria. Additionally, the court instructed the disclosure of the total sum of Abacha loot that has been recovered thus far, along with any agreements entered into by the previous administrations of Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, and Buhari regarding the recovered funds.
Justice James Kolawole Omotosho delivered this judgment last week in response to a Freedom of Information lawsuit, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/407/2020, initiated by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that, “In the final analysis, the application by SERAP is meritorious and the Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance is hereby ordered to furnish SERAP with the full spending details of about $5bn Abacha loot within 7 days of this judgment.”