OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lagos | Wednesday 12.15pm.
THE reformist Nigerian military government of General Abdulsalami Abubakar is searching hard for billions of dollars in public monies stolen by cronies of former ruler General Sani Abacha.
Information Minister John Nwodo says the government is busy seeking the assistance of the countries in which the money is being kept, largely in Western Europe.
Numerous revelations of such corruption have been made since Abacha’s death in June. Abacha’s former national security adviser, Ismaila Gwarzo, is believed to have removed millions of dollars from the Nigerian central bank days before Abacha’s death, to “sell Abacha’s self-succession plan to some unnamed African leaders”. Abacha is believed to have used bogus companies operated by his cronies to remove money from the country.
Switzerland has committed itself to helping recover money deposited in Swiss banks, but says Nigeria will first have to prove those deposits to be ill-gotten gains.