The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the involvement of the World Bank in the repatriation, management and spending of repatriated stolen funds.
The Executive Director of the organisation, Adetokunbo Mumuni, stated this at a public presentation of the organisation’s new publication- “Deterring Kleptocracy: Finding Nigeria’s Re-Stolen Billions and Repatriating Looted Asset” held at the Weston Hotels, Opebi link road, Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday.
Mumuni claimed that over $2billion stolen by the late Head of State, Gen. Sanni Abacha, was repatriated back to the country during the Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar and former President Olusegun Obasanjo administrations.
He said such investigation into the repatriated fund was to ensure full transparency and accountability in these transactions.
SERAP also asked the World Bank to “publicly disclose the level of involvement of the bank in the repatriation of Abacha stolen funds and other similar funds to Nigeria, and its role on the management and spending of such funds, as well as the projects on which the funds were spent. “
“The World Bank should publicly disclose its involvement in any other ongoing repatriation initiatives to Nigeria, and the mechanisms it is putting in place to ensure transparency and accountability of such mechanisms and the judicious use of repatriated funds.”
The 37- page report also urged the Buhari government to “revisit and challenge in court unfair settlements in bribery cases by successive governments and repatriation agreement between the government of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and the family of the late Abacha dated July 14, 2014 and other similar dodgy and unfair agreements with a view to getting better deals, receiving damages/compensations from companies such as Halliburton, and achieving justice for the Nigerian people.”
