EFCC, NSA, Others Fight over Abacha’s Loot

Confusion emerged at the weekend over how much had so far been recovered from the money looted from the nation’s treasury by former Head of State, the late Gen. Sani Abacha, its whereabouts or how the recovered funds were spent.

According to National Mirror, agencies of the Federal Government, who played one role or the other in the recovery and custody of the loot, are currently passing bucks over the loot.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had claimed that the Offices of the Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF), and Minister of Justice and the National Security Adviser (NSA), know how much had been recovered and the money’s whereabouts.

According to National Mirror, EFCC disclosed this in an affidavit.

Strangely though, Offices of the AGF and NSA have disowned EFCC’s affidavit.

They told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that they did not know how much of Abacha loot was recovered or had been spent. The EFCC itself had passed the buck when a non-governmental organisation, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), invoked provisions of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act to demand information on how much had so far been recovered from the loot and its whereabouts.

The anti-graft agency said it had no such information and directed the organisation to the AGF and NSA.

The development made LEDAP to join both NSA and AGF to the suit.

LEDAP had in 2011 instituted the suit with EFCC as sole defendant after the commission refused its request for information.

But LEDAP decided to join AGF, who was then Mr. Mohammed Adoke, and the NSA, Col. Sambo Dansuki, after the EFCC in its counter-affidavit opposed the suit and directed LEDAP to seek the information from offices of the AGF and NSA.

A lawyer in the Legal and Prosecution Unit of EFCC, Mr. Austin Emmumejakpor, stated in the counter-affidavit dated March 5, 2012, “That I am informed that remittances relating to the estate of the late Gen. Abacha was coordinated by the offices of the National Security Adviser and the Attorney- General of the Federation and not the respondent (EFCC) as erroneously thought by the applicant.”

But both the offices of AGF and NSA through their lawyer, Godwin Onwusi, opposed the application seeking an order joining them as respondents in the suit.

They predicated their opposition to being joined to the suit on grounds that contrary to EFCC’s claim, they did not coordinate the recovery of the loot. A counter-affidavit dated January 28, 2015, and deposed to by a lawyer from Onwusi’s law firm, Austin Nwaroh, opposing LEDAP’s application for joining the new respondents, also denied any involvement of NSA in the remittances.

It reads: “That the 2nd party sought to be joined (NSA) did not coordinate the remittances relating to the estate of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

“That the 2nd party sought to be joined is neither in custody nor in possession of information relating to the remittances referred to in paragraph 5 above.

“That the 2nd party sought to be joined is neither a necessary party nor an indispensable party in this suit.”

An earlier counter-affidavit deposed to by another lawyer from Onwusi’s law firm, Ifeanyi Umeji, on March 25, 2014, also denied custody of the requested information on behalf of the AGF and NSA, stating, “That the 1st and 2nd parties sought to be joined (AGF and NSA) did not coordinate remittances relating to the estate of the late Gen. Abacha.”

In a reply, plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Chino Obiagwu, insisted that the AGF and NSA were necessary parties, arguing that by virtue of the provisions of section 21 of the FoI Act, 2011, “the onus is on such body to prove the information is not within its control.”

The case comes up on October 8.