In a few days time the electorate MAY Mistakenly vote in one of the most corrupt politicians in as the Governor of Kebbi State in the person of Senator Atiku Bagudu of the All Peoples Congress. Bellow is evidence already in public domain.


Aziri Okoro: This is great, he has finally seen the night, he is dumping the sinking ship at last.

Babatunde Oduwa: This is the calibre of people we need in APC, a man of the people

Hassan Keita: Let all the remaining people in PDP know that Change is here to stay, Hurray!!!


But, do they know who ATIKU BAGUDU is?

Bagudu became a close friend of Ibrahim and Mohammed Abacha, sons of military ruler Sani Abacha. He and Ibrahim Abacha were involved in a scheme to buy vaccines and resell them to the government at a steep mark-up, earning $66.6 million profit.

Later, he helped divert much larger sums of money that had been earmarked for security spending into foreign accounts. security
spending into foreign accounts.

After Abacha died in 1998, the interim military government that followed started an investigation into misuse of state funds.
Mohammed Abacha and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, his business manager, returned $750 million. There was no criminal prosecution. Bagudu moved to the USA in 2000, and in 2003 was detained there for six months on charges of financial misdeeds during the Abacha era. He was released in November 2003 on condition that he repaid about $300 million to the Federal Government of Nigeria.


The administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo apparently made a deal to recover part of the money in return for dropping prosecution and leaving the remainder with the family.

Bagudu was Chairman of Phil Nugent Nigeria Ltd. from 2004 until December 2005. He was Abacha’s conduit through whom passed most of the $4-5 billion Abacha was reputed to have stolen.

Considering how much money Bagudu made from that administration, he had lots of cash to spend and win the senatorial election. He won overwhelmingly, polling 285,578 votes out of the 310,800 total votes cast. The Democratic Peoples
Party, DPP, candidate, Alhaji Sambo Aliyu, who scored 8,377, emerged a very distant second, while 16 other candidates got inconsequential votes. The ANPP boycotted that election.

Let’s share some more details of Bagudu’s role in the Abacha government. According to a report by a news magazine, The News: He had set up Morgan Procurement Corporation and Mecosta Securities which, as the press put it, “were involved in the illegal transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Nigerian state to the Abacha family.”

According to other reports, Mohammed Abacha and Bagudu siphoned $66m from the $111m purchase of vaccines from the French firm
Pasteur Merieux.

Senator Bagudu is also the Chairman of the committee that was set up to investigate the NIS recruitment scandal which killed tens of youths across Nigeria.

With such a character placed in charge of the NIS recruitment investigation, does anyone have any hope that a thorough job will ever be be done? Does Bagudu have any moral right to stand among decent members of the society to perform such a function not to talk of contesting an election?


Nigerian voters in Kebbi State shine your eyes.

Long Live Nigeria
Long Live Kebbi State

Abacha's Loot & Mohammed's Deal

The the Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi
Email: olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Apparently taken aback by what it considered a crooked deal by the Federal Government, Transparency International (TI) has described the withdrawal of charges against Mr. Mohammed Abacha as an act of encouraging impunity. A statement by its Regional Director for sub-Saharan Africa, Chantal Uwimana, said:

“Allowing the theft of public funds to go unpunished sends the wrong message that those with powerful connections can act with impunity. The case should have been fully prosecuted and the government has not given adequate reasons for dropping the charges.
Corruption is widespread in Nigeria and despite claims by the government to make tackling corruption a priority too few people have been held to account for a series of high profile scandals.”

Given the way this administration has treated (with levity) the challenge of corruption in our country, it is very easy to understand the basis of the damaging statement by TI. However, having followed the Abacha loot recovery story for almost 15 years, I support all efforts to bring a closure to the sordid affair.

Nevertheless, I am also aware that there had been at least four previous agreements with the
Abacha family that did not stand so I keep my fingers crossed about this deal. For those who
may not be fully acquainted with the dirty details, a recap may be necessary here.

Following General Sani Abacha’s death on June 8, 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar assumed power. A month later on July 13, 1998, apparently having seen evidence of monumental looting of the treasury by his late predecessor, then Head of State instituted the Special Investigation Panel to establish “cases of swindled public funds and recover same back to the federal government coffers”. The panel was also to identify the culprits and recover all properties or assets illegally acquired by the culprits.

Within a matter of days, the panel had secured records from the apex back which revealed that between November 1994 when he took over and June 1998 when he died, Abacha had taken from the CBN funds totaling $2,263,520,497 in cash withdrawals, travelers cheques and telegraphic transfers, in the name of “security vote”. However, the job of the panel was made easy by the fact that one of the Abacha family associates, Alhaji Abubakar Bagudu (currently a senator representing Kebbi Central) was ready to cooperate by returning some of the loot.

The first yield came just a few weeks after Abacha’s death when the CBN Director of Foreign Operations, Mr. M. R. Rasheed, on 21
September 1998 acknowledged receiving from Bagudu the sum of US$604,743,187.19 and GB £60,090,984.93. There was an additional GB £ 5.25 million from Bagudu a few days later to complete what was considered full and final settlement with the Federal Government. And with that, on May 26, 1999, just three days before handing over power, General Abubakar promulgated Decree 53 of 1999 on forfeiture of assets by certain persons which listed the monies returned by the Abachas.

The import of the decree was that the family of Abacha and some of their conduits like Bagudu, Gilbert Chagoury, Mark Risser et al would not face any civil or criminal prosecution on account of the forfeitures.

But a few months after President Olusegun Obasanjo assumed power on May 29, 1999, it became evident that Abacha and his cronies had actually fleeced Nigeria to the tune of about $ 4 billion in several deals that included inflation of (or unexecuted)
contracts, the Ajaokuta debt-buy—back scam, shady oil transactions etc. That began another round of tricky negotiations with the family with then Attorney General and Justice Minister, Mr. Kanu Agabi, SAN, acting on behalf of the federal government.

The yields from those negotiations were: $110 Million from Uri David; $50 million from Abdulkadir Abacha (younger brother to the late
Head of State); $170 million from Doraville Properties and various sums totaling hundreds of millions of US Dollars from Switzerland.
Since then, the Abacha family, even while instituting several legal actions of its own against the Federal Government, has been seeking a closure to the civil and criminal proceedings in Switzerland, United Kingdom, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Spain, New Jersey
(USA) etc. as well as at home. That was what the Jonathan administration recently obliged and interestingly, part of the deal is that “the
Abacha family would wish to bring assets back to Nigeria so that these could be invested in the Nigerian economy.”

The Federal Government received the sum of $227 million from the Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein as part of the looted funds from the Abachas and another $380 million is expected from Luxembourg within the next two weeks. And quite typically, a committee has been set up by the Jonathan administration, this time on how to spend Abacha loot! Yet for me, since these monies are coming in because of a deal that grants reprieve to the Abacha family, the Federal Government needs to come out clearly to tell us how much has been recovered from 1999 to date, how much has been spent(and on what and when) and what remains (if any). Aside the issue of transparency, the fact also remains that Abacha loot really does not belong to the Federal Government alone but indeed the Federation which means the 36 states and the 774 Local Governments ought also to be beneficiaries.

However, the jury is still out as to whether the deal between the Federal Government and the Abacha family will stand. For instance, Decree 53 promulgated by General Abubakar was premised on the assumption that the Abacha family had “vomited” enough of the loot. Under Obasanjo, there were also three of such agreements that never worked. The first one was in 1999 but the most interesting was that of March 2002.

Acting on behalf of the Obasanjo government, Agabi had signed the “Global Settlement Agreement” which also stipulated a complete resolution of all civil and criminal issues worldwide between the government and the Abacha family as well as associates. The seven-page document also did not stand. So, I am waiting to see how this one too will work out and if it does, whether another government will not in future discover reasons why the Abacha family should “cough out” more money.

I know many people have wondered how Abacha was able to take as much money from the Nigerian treasury but the manner in which he did it would make for a bestseller novel because the details are actually stranger than any fiction:

His National Security Adviser, Allhaji Ismaila Gwarzo, would make a request, Abacha would endorse and the CBN would release the cash.
And it all started less than two weeks after he took over power from Chief Ernest Shonekan. In a letter dated 30th November 1994, Gwarzo requested for US $100 million to combat “an economy that was deflected and distorted through the black market”. By the arrangement, the dollar was to be sold through Bureau De Change dealers at the then prevailing exchange rate, with a view to mopping up the naira, and beefing up its value. Having apparently been briefed by Abacha, then CBN Governor, Dr. Paul
Ogwuma released the cash in the following sums: US $95 million and GB £ 3.2 million.

Abacha’s son, the late Ibrahim was to sell the dollars in the black market and remit the naira equivalent to the CBN through Gwarzo. The
transaction was indeed carried out even though the money eventually returned to the CBN was not up to what was received. However, the import of that first transaction was that Abacha had realized just how easy it was to directly take money out of the CBN and
that became a perfect scam for him. All that was then needed was a letter from Gwarzo seeking approval for any sum of money in the
guise of “security” and the CBN would release such demand in cash. So primitive was the whole arrangement that the principal job of
some security officials was to be bagging and re-bagging millions of Dollars and Pound
Sterling. The following are a few of the documented transactions:

On February 13and 15, 1995 Gwarzo collected US$200,000 and US$600,000 respectively (totaling $800,000) from the CBN. This was
sequel to Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 15th February, 1995 in which he requested for US dollars $4 million and GB£ 2million “to take care of some developments in a number of areas…” The $800,000 was part payment for the approved sum of US $4 million while the balance was paid in Travellers’ Cheques. On 29th December 1995, Gwarzo collected from the CBN the sum of US $5 million based on
Abacha’s approval of his letter to deal with “situation at hand”!

The reasons given in many of the letters seeking approval to take money out of the CBN beggar belief but having “started small”, Abacha
apparently became more emboldened with time. On 23rd August, 1996, Gwarzo collected US $30 million from the CBN following Abacha’s
approval of his letter dated 20th August 1996, requesting for the said money to “assist our immediate neighbors and others within this
sub-region”. On 18th December, 1996, Gwarzo collected US $ 66.5 million and GB £20 million following Abacha’s approval of his letter to meet “some requests from Heads of State of some Francophone countries, and to cultivate African solidarity.”

A month later on 30 th September, 1996, Gwarzo collected US $ 50 million and GB £20 million from the CBN sequel to his letter dated
24th September 1996, requesting for the money to “prop some African and other Third World countries” to assist in Nigeria’s “democratization and economic recovery”. On 28th April, 1997, Gwarzo collected US $60 million GB £30 million sequel to Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 22nd April 1997, in which he requested for the said sums for “public relations to international communities and organizations”.

On 9th July, 1997, Gwarzo collected US $ 5 million from the CBN following Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 23 rd May, 1997 to
meet all “demands and commitments as directed”. A month later on 8th December, 1997, Gwarzo collected US $120 million and GB
£50 million sequel to Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 26th November 1997. And on 19th January, 1998, Gwarzo collected from the CBN the sums of US $100 million and GB£ 50 million to “counter insinuations that (Lt. General Oladipo) Diya’s coup was not real, and the
government framed them to remove and replace the coupists with stooges.” The interesting thing about this particular
transaction was that while re-bagging the money, “four cartons containing a total of about US$ 8 million were set aside” in Gwarzo’s
own residence, while the balance of US $57 million and GB£ 30 million were delivered to the late Head of State through Mohammed Abacha.

On 25th October, 1997, Gwarzo collected US$ 80 million and GB £40 million “to sponsor military intervention in Sierra Leone, and garner
support for same in the West African Sub-region.” On 30 th April, 1998, a few weeks before Abacha died, Gwarzo collected US $ 80
million, GB £50 million and N250 million based on his letter dated 29 th April 1998 for the conduct of an enlightenment campaign on the
“virtues” of an “Abacha Presidency”.

Ha!!!
I dnt even knw what to say

@OP,
Did you guys just learn of this now, cos i'm seeing this story all over politics forum, were you guys dead or sleeping when the primaries were being held?.. i hate corruption and sharp practices as much if not more than the average Nigerian (My reason for wasting my vote on GMB in '11 while he was still in cpc )but no one will take this seriously cos we know this is coming out now just for electioneering purposes and not for love of country.

Apc has already taken over NW&NE, April 11th is just the rubber stamp day. Even Olisa Metuh in his interview didn't count any of the core HF states as PDP's. Too late OP..

The Senator is the person that was used by Thief Obasanjo to dishonestly and unfairly accuse Abacha of looting.

Abacha was no looter

Whether Bagudu is truly a looter or not is not clear, but is known is that he is dishonest and corruptible.

He has links with the World Bank, who were upset that Abacha rejected all the loans offered to him.

It surprised me when he won the primaries to be adopted as a candidate for governorship for APC indicating that there is some corrupt possibly neocolonialist forces manipulating the affairs of APC

GenBuhari:
The Senator is the person that was used by Thief Obasanjo to dishonestly and unfairly accuse Abacha of looting.

Abacha was no looter

Whether Bagudu is truly a looter or not is not clear, but is known is that he is dishonest and corruptible.

He has links with the World Bank, who were upset that Abacha rejected all the loans offered to him.

It surprised me when he won the primaries to be adopted as a candidate for governorship for APC indicating that there is some corrupt possibly neocolonialist forces manipulating the affairs of APC

There will always be conflict in your Mind on how someone supposedly pristine as Buhari found himself among the ranks and files of APC neocolonialist puppets. The answer will come to you sooner than you think. all you need is patience.

No conflict in my mind whatsoever.
Buhari had to make some compromises in order form APC defeat the ruling party

thoth:

There will always be conflict in your Mind on how someone supposedly pristine as Buhari found himself among the ranks and files of APC neocolonialist puppets. The answer will come to you sooner than you think. all you need is patience.

Generalkorex:
Ha!!!
I dnt even knw what to say

modath:
@OP,
Did you guys just learn of this now, cos i'm seeing this story all over politics forum, were you guys dead or sleeping when the primaries were being held?.. i hate corruption and sharp practices as much if not more than the average Nigerian (My reason for wasting my vote on GMB in '11 while he was still in cpc )but no one will take this seriously cos we know this is coming out now just for electioneering purposes and not for love of country.
Apc has already taken over NW&NE, April 11th is just the rubber stamp day. Even Olisa Metuh in his interview didn't count any of the core HF states as PDP's. Too late OP..

GenBuhari:
The Senator is the person that was used by Thief Obasanjo to dishonestly and unfairly accuse Abacha of looting.
Abacha was no looter
Whether Bagudu is truly a looter or not is not clear, but is known is that he is dishonest and corruptible.
He has links with the World Bank, who were upset that Abacha rejected all the loans offered to him.
It surprised me when he won the primaries to be adopted as a candidate for governorship for APC indicating that there is some corrupt possibly neocolonialist forces manipulating the affairs of APC

GenBuhari:
No conflict in my mind whatsoever.
Buhari had to make some compromises in order form APC defeat the ruling party

''PROFILE: MAN WHO LAUNDERED $700M CASH FOR
THE ABACHAS''

From: Bob Minton <bob@minton.org>
Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 11:33:56 -0400
Organization: The Lisa McPherson Trust, 33 N.
Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater, Florida 33755
Telephone (727) 467-9335, Fax (727) 467-9345
Message-ID:
<j40jhskie9lufrlne0njq30am2s1v703dt@4ax.com>
NIGERIA TODAY ONLINE Daily briefing on key
political & economic events affecting Nigeria
Available by fax and e-mail subscription Monday-
Friday (Except public holidays) Provided by
Phone News International, 18 Hyrstdene, South
Croydon, Surrey CR2 6NR Tel: +44(0)208 406
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PROFILE: ABUBAKAR ATIKU BAGUDU & WHAT HE TOLD A SWISS COURT

''My family is one of the rich families of Nigeria. I cannot state the exact figures of my family fortune. I can state that no member of my family needs to
work to earn a living'' .... Between February 1994
and today, my fortune has considerably
increased and a big portion of it comes from
funds deposited by the Central Bank of Nigeria
in favour of Mecosta Securities, in the book of
Goldmann Sachs, Zurich, in April 1997'' Abubakar
Atiku Bagudu The man who features prominently
in Mohammed Abacha�s testimony in the
laundering of $700 million cash is Abubakar Atiku
Bagudu. He is a business associate of the
Abachas who is also being investigated by a
Swiss court. Already, Mohammed Abacha has
admitted to lawyers that his late father once
gave him $700 million cash for safe keeping at
his Abuja residence. He also admitted that it was
Bagudu that later arranged for the transfer of
this money into various accounts owned by the
Abachas in foreign banks.
............................................................
Abubakar Bagudu appeared before a judge in
Geneva for three days, last year. Here is what he
told the court on 30 September, 1999.
''I am Abubakar Bagudu, a Nigerian citizen, born
in Gwandu, in the northern part of the country in
1961. I belong to the Hausa tribe, one of the
three major ethnic groups in the country. I first
had compulsory primary education in Gwandu,
then I studied economics in the University of
Sokoto from 1979 to 1983. I then went to
another university in Jos from 1988 to 1989,
where I obtained my degree in economics. I was
an assistant lecturer in the University of Sokoto
between 1985 and 1989. Between 1983 and
1984, I did my NYSC for one year. From 1989 to
1991, I worked for Nigeria International Bank in
Lagos.

I then went to Columbia University in New York
from 1992 to 1993 where I obtained a master's
degree in International Business.
In 1993 after my master's degree, I worked for
six months in the World Bank in Washington. I
wish to state that my master's degree was
sponsored by the World Bank. In 1993, I came
back to Nigeria. I engaged myself in consulting
and international trade with my partner Mr.
Ibrahim Turaki. We registered a company under
the name EPCEL Ltd., Lagos. We represented
the French company Pasteur Merieux Connaught.
We were importing machinery.
Up till now, we are still in business and I
maintain a home in Lagos, even though I now
spend most of my time in London.
Mr. Ibrahim Turaki and I have stopped working
for EPCEL Ltd., which we sold in 1995. In
February 1994, Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha, eldest
son of former head of state, General Sani
Abacha, joined my partner and I to form the
company, Morgan Procurement Corporation,
Lagos, among others. We were mostly importing
vaccines. One of the companies we established is
Mecosta Securities Ltd., BVI, in October 1995.
We intended to engage in debt recovery and
arbitration between creditors and debtors. At
the inception of Mecosta Securities Ltd., three
of us namely Mr. Ibrahim Abacha, Mr.
Mohammed Sani Abacha and myself had equal
shares.

Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha died in a plane crash in
January 1996. On that occasion, Mr. Mohammed Sani Abacha, his brother, the next in line, took up the late
brother's share in Morgan Procurement
Corporation. He also took over the shares in
Mecosta Securities Ltd. In fact, Mr. Mohammed
Sani Abacha and I became equal shareholders in
the company (50% - 50%). I have never held
political office in Nigeria. However, my family
has always been close to power. Members of my
family have never held political or public office,
with the exception of my father who was a
Director of Primary Education in his state, Kebbi
State, my state of origin. May I remind you that
Nigeria is a federation of 36 states.

Kebbi State shares a border with Benin Republic.
Commercially speaking, the state is highly
developed because a large quantity of goods
transit through it. My elder brother, Bello
Bagudu, was elected a member of the federal
parliament in February 1999. He is one of the six
representing Kebbi State.

Neither myself nor any other member of the
extended family has occupied public or political
office. As for my business partners, Mr. Ibrahim
Turaki was elected governor of Jigawa State in
February 1999. Mr. Mohammed Sani Abacha has
never held political or public office. However, as
I said earlier, he is one of the sons of the former
head of state, who died in June 1998.

Talking about money, my family is one of the
rich families of Nigeria. I cannot state the exact
figures of my family fortune.
I can state that no member of my family needs
to work to earn a living. Each member of the
family is engaged in managing the family assets.
As for me, I do not need to work because I have
a personal fortune worth tens of millions of US
Dollars, though I cannot quote an exact figure.
Moreover, my only wife also has a personal
fortune, which comes from her family or gifts.
My wife is not a member of the Abacha family,
nor does she belong to any of the families that
once ruled Nigeria. If I am not mistaking,
members of my wife's family occupy no public
or political post. I am aware that the judge will
ask me about relationship with a few individuals.
General Sani Abacha He was head of state of
Nigeria between November, 1993 and June 1998,
up till his death at age 57. General Abacha took
power under the following circumstances:
Following June 1993 elections organised by
former head of state, General Babangida, a
civilian president was elected namely Mr. Abiola.
The elections were annulled by General
Babangida, officially due to electoral
malpractices; as a result of the annulment, there
were riots and disturbance of public peace in the
country; as a remedy, General Babangida decided
to establish a transitional government and
appointed Ernest Shonekan head of state. He
was overthrown by General Sani Abacha. Before
being appointed head of state, General Sani
Abacha was a career military officer. He was one
of the five most powerful military men in the
country.

I met General Sani Abacha for the first time in
1979 in his house in Kano, his native town. I was
introduced to him at home, by his son, Ibrahim
Sani Abacha, but anytime I met him at home, I
used to greet him. He knew I was one of the
friends of his son and he knew my name. I do
not think he knew any other member of my
family. After he assumed power, I continued to
meet him in the same manner as before. At no
time did I have commercial or business links with
General Sani Abacha. Our discussions were
strictly limited to political exchanges. After the
death of Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha, I continued
visiting the home of the general as in the past,
but this time in company of Mr. Mohammed Sani
Abacha. At this juncture, the general became
aware of my training, asked me a few questions
on the economy, but we never had any business
relationship.

Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha As I said earlier, he was
my childhood friend. I knew him when we were
very young. It is possible for him to bear Alhaji
instead of Mister, which, according to Islamic
culture, means that Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha has
gone on pilgrimage to Mecca.

Therefore his name can also be Alhaji Ibrahim
Sani Abacha. It was Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha
who was my friend. Mr.Mohammed Sani Abacha
only came in after the death of Mr. Ibrahim Sani
Abacha. Ibrahim and Mohammed Sani Abacha
brothers had an international sugar company.
Therefore as early as 1985, we had business links
without being business partners.

As far back as February 1994, Mr. Ibrahim Sani
Abacha and myself became business partners and
Morgan Procurement Corporation was
established thereafter. Our partnership began
under the following circumstances: For several
years, even before I went on course to
Washington, Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha, had
proposed that we work together; I had been
refusing because before 1993, I did not want to
work and, in 1993, my job in Washington took
most of my interest and time; I agreed to work
with Mr. Ibrahim Sani Abacha in 1994 because
the latter had a huge fortune and I had a lot of
ideas about how to invest or manage the
fortune. At that time, my fortune was much
smaller than now. Even then, I did not need to
work for a living.

Between February 1994 and today, my fortune
has considerably increased and a big portion of
it comes from funds deposited by the Central
Bank of Nigeria in favour of Mecosta Securities,
in the book of Goldmann Sachs, Zurich, in April
1997.

In reply to a question from the investigating
judge, I explained that there is no direct link
between the rise to power of General Sani
Abacha in November 1993 and the fact that I
accepted in February 1994 to become the
business partner of his eldest son, Mr. Ibrahim
Sani Abacha. It was only coincidental. However,
it is probable that the fact that my new trading
partner is the son of the head of state
contributed to a large extent to the expansion
of our business.

I am aware that my hearing will last at least a
whole day, but I am prepared to go through it. I
already have appointments tomorrow, but I can
easily come back to Geneva. Meanwhile, I am
leaving a copy of a diagram showing the
itinerary of funds, the third agreement dated 16
August 1999 signed with Nigeria, as well as the
draft law negotiated between the parties and
which was to be deposited with High Court of
London for authentication''.

US Government Takes Control Of $480M Abacha Loot. - Yahoo News



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has
taken control of more than $480 million looted
by former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his
associates after a court ruling, the Justice
Department said on Thursday.

The money stolen during Abacha's 1993-1998 de
facto presidency of the oil-rich African nation
and stashed in banks around the world will be
returned to the Nigerian government, the
department said in a statement.

“Rather than serve his county, General Abacha
used his public office in Nigeria to loot millions
of dollars, engaging in brazen acts of
kleptocracy,” Assistant Attorney General Leslie
Caldwell said in the statement.

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington
ordered on Wednesday that the funds, frozen by
the Justice Department in March, be forfeited to
U.S. control.

The judgment includes about $303 million in two
bank accounts in the British offshore center of
Jersey and $144 million in two bank accounts in
France. Three accounts in the United Kingdom
and Ireland hold at least $27 million, the
statement said.

Claims to another $148 million in four
investment portfolios in the United Kingdom are
pending.

Abacha, who took took power in a coup, died in
1998. Nigeria has been fighting for years to
recover his money, but companies linked to the
Abacha family have gone to court to prevent
repatriation.

Between $3 billion and $5 billion of public
money was looted during Abacha's regime,
according to Transparency International.
The Justice Department suit filed in November
2013 saying that Abacha, his son Mohammed
Sani Abacha, their associate Abubakar Atiku
Bagudu and others embezzled, misappropriated
and extorted money from the Nigerian
government.

They laundered funds by buying bonds backed
by the United States using U.S. financial
institutions, prosecutors said.

The assets were held in banks that included
Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc and
Banque SBA, according to the lawsuit.
In June, after a 16-year legal battle, Nigeria
recovered from Liechtenstein $228 million stolen
by Abacha and his associates.

As of last year, Nigeria had recovered about $1.3
billion of Abacha's money from various
European jurisdictions.

Firstly, congratulations Mr. President-elect on
your historic victory in the March 28, 2015
presidential election.

In your widely circulated "Covenant With
Nigerians," war against corruption featured
prominently. In my view there is no better way
to bring your national anti-corruption strategy
to life than by focusing on ending the culture of
impunity, vis-a-vis corruption.

A classic example of impunity comes to mind in the recent
infamous forfeiture of more than $480 million in
corruption proceeds (originating from Nigeria)
hidden in bank accounts around the world by
one of the gubernatorial candidates, Senator
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu , running in the coming
guber contest in Kebbi State, April 11, 2015.
As a patriotic Kebbian and Nigerian, just like you
are sir, I cannot just fold my arms and look the
other way when kleptocracy is involved; officials
stealing from their own government treasuries at
the expense of their citizens.

As recently as
August 6, 2014, a judgment was entered by a
U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates of the
District of Columbia against the companies of
the said gubernatorial candidate (Senator
Bagudu), in the largest kleptocracy case ever in
the history of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Evidently, rather than serve his country, Senator
Bagudu took undue advantage of association
with the Abachas and looted millions of dollars,
engaging in brazen acts of kleptocracy. With the
August 6, 2014 judgment, the U.S. Department
of Justice, Criminal Division, denies a kleptocrat
Bagudu the fruits of his crimes, and protects the
U.S. financial system from money laundering.
Now, it's your turn, sir, to complement the U.S.
efforts by helping to extradite this criminal
(hiding behind your shadow) to Washington DC
to face justice, when the Interpol comes
knocking soon. Kebbians, Nigerians, and indeed
the world will be watching to see if your actions
(this time around) are going to match your
speeches about fighting impunity in high profiled
corruption cases like this one.

To put this case in perspective sir, the complaint
against Sen. Bagudu (and others) alleged that he
was the mastermind of systematically embezzling
billions of dollars in public funds from the
Central Bank of Nigeria on the false pretense
that funds were necessary for national security.
In another development, Sen. Bagudu's company
also allegedly sold Nigerian government bonds at
vastly inflated prices, using a criminal scheme,
generating an illegal windfall of more than $282
million. Equally, extorted more than $11 million
from a French company in connection with
payments on government contracts. Funds
involved in these schemes were allegedly
laundered through the U.S.

Sir, I have heard that the vice-president - elect
promised to not go after those who have
perpetrated corruption before your election. I
pray that's not true. Nigerians expect you to go
after those who stole the future of their
children. Though, you should not allow this to
distract you from fighting the cronic insecurity,
as a priority. However, we cannot afford to let
high profile looters like Sen. Bagudu to go Scot-
free. They must pay if only to serve as
deterrence to future thieves.

Sir, as you already know, perception is very
important; and first impression carries a lot of
weight. At this crucial moment, please avoid
making your predecessor's error. Both President
Obasanjo and Jonathan were unable or unwilling
to help extradite an alleged drug kingpin,
Senator - elect Buriji Kashamu , to the U.S.
(where he is declared wanted) to face justice.
For 17 years, Senator - elect Kashamu has been
wanted in the U.S. for allegedly acting as the
kingpin of a drug smuggling and money
laundering ring. There has been talk at times in
Nigeria about extraditing him to the U.S. to face
justice. But being a strong supporter of the
PDP, the move always seemed unlikely. Now,
Kashamu is going to be sworn in as a senator,
making the possibility even more remote, unless
you, sir, step up to impunity, as you promised
Nigerians to do.

Accordingly, Senator Bagudu (APC - Kebbi State)
and Senator - elect Kashamu (PDP - Ogun State)
cases ought to be your first test case to
ascertain your determination to put a stop to
the culture of impunity, vis-a-vis corruption in
Nigeria. Sir, please make this one of your 100-
days-in-office potential mission
accomplishments. This will send a strong,
practical and unmistakable signal to the national
and international community as to where you
stand today on corruption; leave no one in
doubt about your zero tolerance for both
corruption and impunity.

Serendipity! Luckily for you sir, strong, new
partners in the war against corruption. March 30,
2015, precisely two days after your historic
election victory, the FBI announced the
establishment of international corruption squads
targeting foreign bribery and kleptocracy crimes.
Special Agent, George McFachern, who heads up
the international corruption unit at FBI
Headquarters, explains that the squads were
created to address the national and international
implications of corruption. That these squads will
help keep the Bureau at the forefront of U.S.
and global law enforcement efforts to battle
international corruption and kleptocracy.
Sir, in the short term, one of my motivations for
writing this open letter to you is to help inform
the Kebbi State electorate to not waste its votes
April 11, 2015 on Senator Bagudu in the
gubernatorial contest. But, in the long term, if
by accident he got the advantage of your
momentum and scale through, then, you yourself
will have the opportunity to prove to Nigerians
that impunity has no hiding place with you, from
any quarter, by helping to get him extradited to
the U.S. to face justice. Sir, what better
demonstration of zero tolerance for corruption
can there be?

I for one sir, as a Kebbian (and a U.S. citizen), in
collaboration with our organization, Kebbians In
The Diaspora Association (KITDA) of which I
happened to be the president, am more than
ready to work with you on the two cases cited in
this letter, to fight impunity by finishing the
work U.S. Justice Department started.

I will be contacting your office in due course, as
a follow up to this letter, as soon as KITDA
procure the necessary documents at hand
requesting for the cooperation of the Nigerian
government to extradite these alleged criminals
to face justice in the United States.
Thank you sir. And God bless the Federal
Republic of Nigeria!
(Prince Kabir Abubakar wrote from Maryland,
USA. +14439457478)

Kebbi 2015: Dakingari’s legacy and friendly enemies within By Max Gbanite maxgbanite@yahoo.com

There are image-damagers who very often masquerade as the voice of concerned party foot
soldiers or defenders of party discipline and virtues, which in their bid to score cheap political points bring their leaders to ridicule; and, this is exactly the
manner-of-missiles directed at His Excellency, Alhaji Saidu Dakingari, the Executive Governor of kebbi State, by friendly- enemies within his party, Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP). The same enemies are clawing on straws in a futile attempt to foil the consolidation of the positive legacy the governor has bequeathed to the state. In circumstances like this, men endowed with sense of impartiality cannot stand aloof and watch the destruction of one hard working individual.

The bone of contention is the PDP’s 2015 gubernatorial ticket in the state; and the apparent
popularity of Gen. S Y Bello (Rtd.), which is scarring the living day light out of his opponents in the race. Instead of engaging in a genuine campaign to strategize and position their preferred candidates for possible victory, they resort to name callings and
character assassination to win the sympathy of kebbi State PDP members; unfortunately for them, Peoples Democratic Party in Kebbi is known for carrying-out
unhindered scrutiny of potential aspirants for any position.

In a bid to disorganize the party
in the state and hand over the
structures to the opposition All
progressive Congress (APC), one
Ibrahim D Usman has assumed
the mouthpiece of the internal
opposition to Gov. Dakingari.
Instead of resolving minor
disagreements within the available
party structures, he preferred the
pages of the newspaper to
damage the party; damage the
governor; and damage Gen. S.Y.
Bello; this, indeed, is a
misadventure taken too far.
In a widely publicized piece on
the DailyTrust newspaper,
September 14, 2014, Ibrahim D
Usman exhibited the huge jitters
that have cascaded the internal
opposition within the party. He
derogatorily made reference to
the gubernatorial ambition of
Gen. Bello without recourse to
the unalloyed-nation-building
credentials the same Bell has
under his belt. Instead of
supporting Gov. Dakingari to
ensure the election of this
exemplary son of kebbi State, the
likes of Usman are busy pressing
the destruct button to drag the
state backwards.
This is a case of wrecking the
system if one is unable to have
their way. However, they will have
to contend with the
determination of the performing
governor and the progress
consolidation agenda, and
prepare to contest with Gen.
Bello in the battle ahead. Again,
if they are self-deluded into
thinking that the duo of Bello and
the governor, will chicken out and
hand the party structures over to
them in their bid to draw the
state backward; they must be
consulting with political
neophytes. At this point, it is
noteworthy to state that they did
not even spare former Governor
Muhammed Adamu Aliero in their
misguided vituperation. This is
not the way to move their great
party forward in the state.
The people of kebbi State are
blessed to have Gen. Sarki Yaki
Bello, as their son. This is a man
of distinguished accomplishments;
a Prince who dropped his
princely-babanriga and all the
privileges of that title to become
a soldier-warrior; a true soldiers-
soldier and, a first class
intelligence-infantry-officer. A
trained lawyer with Nigeria Bar
accreditations; at the rank of
captaincy, made his mark at the
office of army provost,
prompting his boss then, the
Army provost Marshall, Major
Gen. Sani Sami (now retired), to
refer to him as the ‘most brilliant
officer in my command”, at the
time Sani Sami made that
comment, he did not even know
that Bello was his kinsman from
Kebbi State. Today, the same
Gen. Sani Sami (rtd.) is the emir
of Zuru, and he cannot be one of
the emir’s that is not happy with
the governor’s radar-sighting of
Gen. Bello as his successor. Bello
went on to become a Military
Attache’ to our embassy in
Washington DC, while there, he
delivered a paper at the Institute
of World Policy, that earned him
the respect and admiration of
Americans, and British experts
attending lectures with him; he
went on to become the Military
Assistant to the then Chief of
Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Bamaiyi Rtd.
(a fearless-soldier); the same
Bamaiyi likes the idea of a Bello
as the next governor of Kebbi, his
state. Gen. Bello went on to
command the Military Joint Task
Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta
during the height of militancy-
insurrection; his swift actions led
many to surrender and embrace
the amnesty offered by the late
president, Umaru Yar’Adua; and
his fair play and manner of
approach in tackling the
turbulences earned him the
admiration of both traditional
ruler’s, and the pseudo-generals
commanding the various militant-
terrorists during that era; and
they still discuss him with awe till
date.
He later became the General
Officer Commanding (GOC) 82
division. While at that division,
his handling of the ‘Osisikanku’
kidnapping menace in Abia State
was one of the best efforts made
at subjugating kidnapping in any
part of Nigeria. He did not only
destroy the ‘Osisikanku’ criminal-
clan but exorcised Abia State of
kidnapping and other insurgency-
inducing-crimes. During his
tenure as commander of the Joint
Task Force (JTF) and GOC of
82 nd Division of the Nigerian
Army, he combined
intellectualism, prudence and
professionalism in ensuring that
innocent Nigerians were never
harmed in the course of duty, and
within his area of command.
The real situation in Kebbi State is
that the current governor has
looked around and within Kebbi
State and, decided that for the
good people and the state to
move to the next level of
transformation and
industrializations, that his
successor must be someone who
has demonstrated enough clout
within the country, and
international community; and has
the ability to take the
developmental-foundations of his
(Gov. Dakingari) to the next level.
The governor knows that Kebbi
state needs a person that can
attract the much needed foreign
investment for the farmers, a
person the international
community knows and trusts; and
as a result, he searched
thoroughly within his party; and
came to the conclusion that
amongst those qualified for the
position, that Gen Sarki Yaki
Bello best fits this calculus. The
governor’s political opponents
and friendly-enemies are scared
that Gen. Bello will never
compromise on merit if he is
eventually elected by the good
people of the state; but they can
count on him to be a team player
who will carry everybody along.
For a Governor that achieved so
much in the agricultural sector
and a leading light of the
President Goodluck Jonathan’s
Transformation Agenda, ensuring
the election of a successor with
capacity to sustain his great
landmarks will not be a misplaced
priority. Is this what the
detractors of the Governor
referred to as “his anointing a
successor?” It will be unpatriotic
for the sitting Governor to
overlook capable citizens of the
state in his quest to entrench his
positive legacy.
I urge His Excellency to remain
steadfast in his great mission in
Kebbi State and implore the
citizens to continue to extend
their unalloyed support to his
administration. The coach of any
football team understands the
abilities of his players both
collectively and individually. He is
in a better position to determine
who to play at any position and
when it is necessary for
substitutions to be made. It will
help the PDP team in the state to
keep trusting in the wisdom of
the coach and his ability to make
the right decisions in the overall
interest of the party. The
umbrella is big enough to
accommodate all discerning
members of the party. One thing
the party followers must
appreciate is that Gen. S Y Bello
is a team player, and a systems-
man who will never allow any
structure or power base in the
party to be marginalized. His
experience and training has
automatically prepared him for
the task ahead.
The contending factions should
bury the hatchet and support this
illustrious son of Kebbi State. He
will never betray their confidence;
he is a man we respect, and Kebbi
State should be commended for
giving a prince like him to our
military to serve our country.
Submitted by: A.U. Max Gbanite;
Strategic Security Expert, Defence
& Security Analyst;
maxgbanite@yahoo.com