Thank you Toth,
I have been amassing evidence which shows Abacha never looted the money that Obj claimed was returned to Nigeria as "Abacha loot" has never been trace. The Swiss authourities conspired with Obasanjo to claim that Abacha looted. but all other facts showed he never looted.
Money supposedly in those accounts probably belonged Obasanjo or Babangida or one of their cronies.

thoth:
I made enquiries and i found out that the Abacha truly owns a modest house, i am still waiting for replies for people who are closer to the son. This is the most startling information i have had on this man.
What is most confusing is how people still choose to accept and believe those allegations heaped on Abacha considering the amount of visual facts on the ground.

It just vindicates those that say Abacha never looted.

pazienza: What caught my attention in the story was the size of Abacha's home,what a suprise.

thoth:
we should allow for disabilities and impairments on behalf of our citizens, considering the importance of educating nigerians i can see reasons with his later decisions though i doubt its efficiency.

I made enquiries and i found out that the Abacha truly owns a modest house, i am still waiting for replies for people who are closer to the son. This is the most startling information i have had on this man.
What is most confusing is how people still choose to accept and believe those allegations heaped on Abacha considering the amount of visual facts on the ground.

Nigerians love who they can lay blame of failure on so using Abacha as one was okay by most Nigerians, hating discipline also contributed to it, Nigerians hate to be directed or instructed so anyone that seems to act that way is pulled down. I don't really know much about Abacha but from the facts i read about him when he was in power, our economy was 4X better than what we have now.

Abacha's economic peformance (verifiable by CBN data and world bank data):

Abacha never accepted world bank of IMF loans

Abacha reduced inflation from 54% to approx 8.5%

Abacha maintained the exchange rate at N22= $1

Abacha paid of approx $6bn of national debt

Abacha increased our reserves by approx $9

And all this was whilst he was facing economic sanctions from western countries who did not like his pro-Nigeria policies.

And all this during a period when oil prices were as low as $9 per barrel

He commanded respect and influence in Africa and rest of the world for his interventions in Sierra Leone and Liberia fulfilling our role as regional superpower.

It would have need him to be a magician to have managed to loot money as well!!
The facts and evidence are overwhelming that Abacha never looted.

honeric01:

Nigerians love who they can lay blame of failure on so using Abacha as one was okay by most Nigerians, waiting discipline also contributed to it, Nigerians hate to be directed or instructed so anyone that seems to act that way is pulled down. I don't really know much about Abacha but from the facts i read about him when he was in power, our economy was 4X better than what we have now.

[quote author=thoth]Nigeria is really far from any form of liberation. The ignorance of the masses and the extent that such ignorance and arrogance has been glamourized tell a lot that we are playing the loosing hand. Just look at the two posts below.


In the face of such an important information,one which its truth or falsity matters a lot to the future and its composites affecting our future judgements on such matters, all that this poster sees is the writing style of the author and that he chooses t
the reason y it is said dat if yhu want to hide sumfin 4rm a black man(in dis case a nigerian)dnt luk far hide it in a book he ll neva c it

GenBuhari: Abacha's economic peformance (verifiable by CBN data and world bank data):

Abacha never accepted world bank of IMF loans

Abacha reduced inflation from 54% to approx 8.5%

Abacha maintained the exchange rate at N22= $1

Abacha paid of approx $6bn of national debt

Abacha increased our reserves by approx $9

And all this was whilst he was facing economic sanctions from western countries who did not like his pro-Nigeria policies.

And all this during a period when oil prices were as low as $9 per barrel

He commanded respect and influence in Africa and rest of the world for his interventions in Sierra Leone and Liberia fulfilling our role as regional superpower.

It would have need him to be a magician to have managed to loot money as well!!
The facts and evidence are overwhelming that Abacha never looted.

But the world and Nigerian media says otherwise, they said he stole all our money and that he bankrupted Nigeria, when you try to bring up the issue, the shout you down.

bealuv: In the face of such an important information,one which its truth or falsity matters a lot to the future and its composites affecting our future judgements on such matters, all that this poster sees is the writing style of the author and that he chooses t
the reason y it is said dat if yhu want to hide sumfin 4rm a black man(in dis case a nigerian)dnt luk far hide it in a book he ll neva c it

What did you make out from the article personally? lets discuss the article and stop going the easy way by picking on other's posts.

Let's discuss what the LONG article explained.

honeric01:

But the world and Nigerian media says otherwise, they said he stole all our money and that he bankrupted Nigeria, when you try to bring up the issue, the shout you down.

@honeric01
I know what you mean, and even the people like obasanjo who accused him are the biggest looters Africa has ever seen

GenBuhari:

@honeric01
I know what you mean, and even the people like obasanjo who accused him are the biggest looters Africa has ever seen

But can they be countered? who can face the Nigerian media over these lies?

We do not have a proper news media in Nigeria, as most news organisations are owned by the corrupt elite.

Add to Abacha's economic achievements what about our sporting achievements during his rule?

We won our only 2 olympic gold medals in football and in long jump

We won the Africa Cup of Nations

We won record levels of gold medals in commonwealth games that have not been matched since Abacha's departure.

honeric01:

But can they be countered? who can face the Nigerian media over these lies?

A developed black nation is a threat to those whose interest lies in exploiting africa and Abacha by the effect of his pro nigerian policies is a threat to the real enemies of nigeria.
Most of our media is directly owned or by proxy by these imperialist nations. The media is a strong instrument for propaganda and these foreign parasites knew that quite well so you now check on who owns the biggest news and radio media via attacked abacha during his regime. Who owns the Sun newspaper and what about his boasted links to the CIA . Do you think the CIA got him in their payroll because he is handsome ? No my brother, they acquired him(he is an asset) because his newspaper would be used to influence peoples opinion and therefore keep them blind and in line.
I read an ARIS report last two weeks that stated how NTA's only foreign news centers on Syria and nothing else and how they are in compliance with the western anti- Assad rhetorics.
Counter them by educating yourself and then educating others. Don't let hate,emotion or tribalism cloud your judgments because that is what any disinformation campaign relies on the succeed and where there is lack of those they try to create it first.

thoth:
A developed black nation is a threat to those whose interest lies in exploiting africa and Abacha by the effect of his pro nigerian policies is a threat to the real enemies of nigeria.
Most of our media is directly owned or by proxy by these imperialist nations. The media is a strong instrument for propaganda and these foreign parasites knew that quite well so you now check on who owns the biggest news and radio media via attacked abacha during his regime. Who owns the Sun newspaper and what about his boasted links to the CIA . Do you think the CIA got him in their payroll because he is handsome ? No my brother, they acquired him(he is an asset) because his newspaper would be used to influence peoples opinion and therefore keep them blind and in line.
I read an ARIS report last two weeks that stated how NTA's only foreign news centers on Syria and nothing else and how they are in compliance with the western anti- Assad rhetorics.
Counter them by educating yourself and then educating others. Don't let hate,emotion or tribalism cloud your judgments because that is what any disinformation campaign relies on the succeed and where there is lack of those they try to create it first.

You were communicating with me until your last paragraph, check my past comments on this forum and see if that paragraph should be attributed to me. I have always known the media (Nigeria) an extension of western media, they get 90% of their foreign news from BBC and CNN (plus Al jezzera abi wetin dem dey call them), they decide who's good and who's bad, which president is democratic and which is a tyrant, who's corrupt and who's a saint, they WERE even the ones who gave boko haram that name and the Nigerian media just took up from there.

I know the so called "boko haram" is more than 25 groups, how then would you label different groups under one name? knowing your enemies by name and identity gives you room to tackle them one on one.. someone who has body pains, headache,fever and other ailment shouldn't be diagnosed and then be told he or she is sick and then ignoring all these illnesses. This is what the western media did to Nigeria and this is why we can't fight boko haram, they claim they are faceless, yet they are operating.. the western media successfully brainwashed most Nigerians with the help of the Nigerian media into accepting this general name, giving room for other groups/wicked individuals to carry out attacks on their "enemies", then label them boko haram attacks.

Blacks are in deep shitt if they continue waiting for the western world to validate things for us before we accept them.

honeric01:

You were communicating with me until your last paragraph, check my past comments on this forum and see if that paragraph should be attributed to me. I have always known the media (Nigeria) an extension of western media, they get 90% of their foreign news from BBC and CNN (plus Al jezzera abi wetin dem dey call them), they decide who's good and who's bad, which president is democratic and which is a tyrant, who's corrupt and who's a saint, they WERE even the ones who gave boko haram that name and the Nigerian media just took up from there.

I know the so called "boko haram" is more than 25 groups, how then would you label different groups under one name? knowing your enemies by name and identity gives you room to tackle them one on one.. someone who has body pains, headache,fever and other ailment shouldn't be diagnosed and then be told he or she is sick and then ignoring all these illnesses. This is what the western media did to Nigeria and this is why we can't fight boko haram, they claim they are faceless, yet they are operating.. the western media successfully brainwashed most Nigerians with the help of the Nigerian media into accepting this general name, giving room for other groups/wicked individuals to carry out attacks on their "enemies", then label them boko haram attacks.

Blacks are in deep shitt if they continue waiting for the western world to validate things for us before we accept them.

I don't mean you in particular ,keep in mind i am addressing an audience here.
The problem with all you said so far is that the masses believes them so much and our own news media regurgitates it over and over that the people clearly does not have the privilage of alternative views. Check out how the libyan extremist progressed from Rioters->goverment Opposition movements -> Rebels -> Freedom Fighters -> National Transition Council and our people swallowed it as each stage progresses.
One thing i believe is that once you jarred somebody out of that gridlock of ignorance it is hard for him to fall back in it. So just do as much you can and educate the few that would listen to you.

thoth:
I don't mean you in particular ,keep in mind i am addressing an audience here.
The problem with all you said so far is that the masses believes them so much and our own news media regurgitates it over and over that the people clearly does not have the privilage of alternative views. Check out how the libyan extremist progressed from Rioters->goverment Opposition movements -> Rebels -> Freedom Fighters -> National Transition Council and our people swallowed it as each stage progresses.
One thing i believe is that once you jarred somebody out of that gridlock of ignorance it is hard for him to fall back in it. So just do as much you can and educate the few that would listen to you.

My brother, it's not easy helping people with the truth who are not ready to know the truth.

wow! that is very interesting perspective.

Thoth has added flavour to the discussion.

I was pretty young during abacha's reign, i heard a lot of stories about him from people,and those stories formed my views about him. Haven being exposed to diverging information about abacha like gen buhari is doing on nl,i have been forced to re ask people questions.

good man!

pazienza: Thoth has added flavour to the discussion.

I was pretty young during abacha's reign, i heard a lot of stories about him from people,and those stories formed my views about him. Haven being exposed to diverging information about abacha like gen buhari is doing on nl,i have been forced to re ask people questions.

[size=18pt]Inside Aso Rock: The Day Abacha Died - Part 3[/size]

By Orji Ogbonnaya Orji


At the International Conference Centre, I saw some Ministers standing at the lobby in anticipation of the arrival of Abacha and his team. Immediately they saw me, they became very agitated, and almost simultaneously asked me, "is the C-ln-C already on his way?" I said, "no, I am not really sure he is coming. But let us hope he will still make it". I knew, as a matter of fact, that I had not really provided them with the desired answer, but that was the much I could tell them. While they were still pondering on the uncertainty of my reply, I left and quickly walked into the hall where I met my Director-General, Alhaji Abdulrahaman Michika. He was already seated with other participants. I called him aside. "Sir, I don't really know what is happening in the Villa. I suggest that you leave this place now!" Without betraying any emotion, he quickly asked me what was the situation in the Villa like, I told him all that I saw. I repeated my advice and that I had not been able to confirm what exactly was happening. I then made it clear to him that it was no longer safe for him to continue staying in the conference, and so should quietly take his leave. Alhaji Michika immediately went back to his table, took his pen and papers and followed me out of the hall.

The moment we were outside, I asked him if he came with his car. He said yes, but because of the extraordinary security arrangement put in place in anticipation of the arrival of the Head of State, it was difficult locating his driver. I then suggested that we should use my car which he obliged. I drove him straight to his house instead of the office. Both of us agreed that he should remain at home for the time being, while I promised to keep him informed about the development. This panic measure was as a result of the usual trauma which Radio Nigeria Management Staff often pass through each time there was a military coup d'‚tat in Nigeria. The first target usually is the FRCN Broadcasting House. The management and staff on duty usually pass through hell in the hands of the military boys in their desperate effort to gain entrance into the studios at record time for the usual "Fellow Nigerians" broadcast.

From my Director-General's residence I decided to get to NICON Hilton Hotel to assess the situation there before heading back to the Villa. At the hotel the atmosphere was rather sombre. There were a few cluster of people; some of them who recognized me, rushed and demanded to know what was happening at the Villa. "Orji, is it true that there is a coup at the Villa?", they asked. I said, "well I don't know". At that time, the BBC, CNN and International Media had begun to speculate on the confused situation.

From their countenance I could see they were not satisfied with my answer. They thought probably that I was withholding some information. But they never knew I had none. I felt very uncomfortable. As a reporter covering the State House, I was equally restless that I could not give a valid answer on what was happening on my beat. I recognized too that it was utterly wrong to depend on others for information about events unfolding in my beat. I instantly felt challenged to get back to the Villa. I was equally aware that such an adventure was fraught with a lot of risk. But that is the other side of journalism as a profession.

This hausa boy leave dis matter na,abacha ia dead buried and rotten by now so why exhuming a clueless topic??

whose an Hausa boy?

I am Igbo man and proud!

Whether Abacha is dead or not is not the issue, it is important the truth is told about our history

bayooooooo:

What a sad end!

Vanity upon vanity.

pazienza: Thoth has added flavour to the discussion.

I was pretty young during abacha's reign, i heard a lot of stories about him from people,and those stories formed my views about him. Haven being exposed to diverging information about abacha like gen buhari is doing on nl,i have been forced to re ask people questions.

Gen. Abacha was very very very bad leader.

iykak47: This is graphic reportage, i wonder what else you expect from the reporter.
Please don't criticize unnecessarily.

The reporter is first class one.

juman:

Vanity upon vanity.




Gen. Abacha was very very very bad leader.

May we know how you arrived at such conclusion ?

Clearly you must have been tooo young during Abacha's regime and you are clearly just regurgitating Obasanjo and Western nation's propanganda and lies aimed at demonising Abacha who government performed very well.

juman:

Gen. Abacha was very very very bad leader.

[size=18pt]Inside Aso Rock: The Day Abacha Died - Part 4[/size]

By Orji Ogbonnaya Orji

On getting back to the Villa, I decided to avoid the main gate because of the heavy security presence there. Instead, I used the maintenance gate through the Asokoro District. I was amazed that no single security man was there at the time. There was therefore no difficulty in passing through into Aso Rock. I drove my car to the Administrative Gate and parked there, and decided to walk. Initially everything had appeared normal in some parts of the Villa until I met a Body Guard (BG). I queried, "old boy wetin happen? Why una boys full everywhere?" It is easier to obtain information from other ranks with informal English. "Ah! Na wa oh! You no know say Baba don quench?". The boy answered also in Pidgin English. "Which Baba?" I shouted. "Baba don die, Baba don quench just like that. Na so we see am," the boy concluded, clutching a cigarette in his left hand. I still could not understand what he was saying. "Which Baba do you mean?", I queried further. "Abacha don die! You no hear?" He shouted at me angrily. It was a very funny way of announcing the passage of a man who was feared and dreaded by all. I was nonetheless confused by its reality. My immediate reaction was that if truly General Abacha was dead, it meant the end of an era. What future does it hold for Nigeria? I pondered over the development as I advanced further into Aso Rock. As I moved down, the reality became evident. The environment was cold, cloudy with uncertainties among the faces I met.

They confirmed it was a reality. General Abacha was truly dead. All were in groups discussing it with fear and subdued silence.

I quickly reached for a telephone to relay the sad story to my Director-General who must be anxiously waiting to hear the latest. Moreso, I was still far away from my news deadline at 4 p.m. But I was disappointed to discover that all the telephone links to the Villa had been severed. There was no call coming in or going out, the Villa at that critical moment was almost totally isolated from the rest of humanity. It was a deliberate measure. When I could not get through on telephone, I decided to drive out fast to break the news. But on reaching the gate through which I had earlier entered, I discovered that some fierce looking soldiers who told me that nobody was allowed to go out or come in had effectively barricaded it. This was happening at about 9.30 a.m. I was helplessly trapped in the Villa from that time till about 5 p.m. when we conveyed the remains of General Abacha to Kano for burial.

I felt particularly disappointed that I could not break the news to anxious Nigerians early enough. It was even more embarrassing and certainly very disheartening to learn that some foreign broadcast stations like the BBC and CNN, which had no accredited correspondents in the Villa, were the first to break the news of General Abacha's death. It did not entirely come to me as a surprise because the system we operate in Nigeria respects the foreign media more than the local ones. It is equally a well-known fact that most foreign media subscribe to policy makers in our country, who always feed them with first-hand information about any event or issue in the country. The foreign media organizations are no magicians. They pay for news sources especially in situations where they have no correspondents. The pay is usually so attractive that the source is efficient. Thus, generally, access to information in developing countries is fraught with discrimination against local media in preference to foreign ones.

[size=20pt]Inside Aso Rock: The Day Abacha Died -part5[/size]

By Orji Ogbonnaya Orji



That morning, June 8, 1998, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer to General Abacha, was said to have called key members of the Provincial Ruling Council (PRC) including strategic military commanders for an emergency meeting. We learnt he refused to disclose that Abacha was dead. At about 11a.m., members of the PRC had begun to arrive at Aso Rock for an emergency meeting. Most of the members were informed only on arrival for the meeting except the very powerful ones.

That day, Major Al-Mustapha looked very sharp and smartly dressed in his Army tracksuit and white canvas. The Major was simply too busy running from pillar to post, looking confident but certainly confused about the future without his boss. He was finally in charge, distributing orders to the rank and file to get the Aso Council Chambers ready for the meeting. We watched at a distance in utter disbelief of the turn of events. For Mustapha, the situation was a bleak one. The fear was a possible fall from grace to grass for a man who was dreaded and respected by both the lowly and the mighty. But that morning, he conjured such a pitiable image as he presided over the wreckage of a collapsed regime.

Emotions took over the whole environment. One of the female Ministers worsened the situation when she arrived the Villa by shouting and weeping openly. Nobody looked her way to console her as everybody was simply on his/her own. Cigarettes were a scarce commodity that morning, the only immediate source of reducing tension and grief. Most PRC members who were informed on arrival immediately asked for cigarettes, but none was easily available. Those who had some hoarded them jealously. Elsewhere in the Villa, a gloomy atmosphere, mingled with subdued excitement and relief pervaded. Flurry of activities were taking place at breathtaking speed two crucial meetings were in progress simultaneously. One was a meeting of Principal Officers in the Presidency and the venue was Aso Rock Wing of the Chief of General Staff. The other meeting of members of the Provincial Ruling Council (PRC) was shifted to Akinola Aguda House. The two meetings later merged at Aso Council Chambers for another crucial session. The joint session began at 2 p.m. and ended at 4.45 p.m. I imagined that the items on the agenda of that meeting were:

_ Selection of a new Head of State and Commander-in-Chief.

_ Arrangements for the burial of General Abacha.

While the separate meetings were in progress, we in the Press Corps were held hostage. We had all the information but no means of communication. Hunger was also a problem. However, for the first time we were free to assess the regime openly and objectively. The open discussion and arguments centred on what Abacha did and did not do.

[b]I think that this new Revisionist movements to somehow 'Rehabilitate'
Abacha has gone too far to the extent of been an open insult on the intelligence of Nigerians:


http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/news/173008-abacha-family-loses-bid-to-recover-800m-from-fg (I guess one can have access to this amount of money ie about #92 Billion if all your career life have been spent in the military)


http://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=abacha%20loot%20in%20sitzerland&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.punchng.com%2Fbusiness%2Fbusiness-economy%2Fwe-returned-500m-abacha-loot-swiss-envoy%2F&ei=BvMqUPm9BOas0QWDjoDAAw&usg=AFQjCNFyAvH9zwIRV8vcVMOvD8YcvoglXA&cad=rja (The monies he stalked in Swiss Accounts said to be up to $2 Billion, part of which have been recovered, is also not corruption abi? Or you believe as some members of his family was reported to have said, that he was only keeping the monies n trust of Nigerians. His sn currently undergoing corruption charges in Switzerland is also part of the set-up abi?)


By the way, Abacha was not sanctioned by the 'International Community' cos he was 'a Great African Leader' as you put it but cos he and the then Northern Elites in cohorts with Shell Killed the non-violent Environmental Rights Campaigner and Writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa, for whom a lot of persons and organizations including the Pope, Nelson Mandela, Commonwealth etc pleaded for leniency after his Kangaroo judgement.

I have not said any thing yet about the atrocities Abacha committed(killings, imprisonments etc) as enumerated by his very many victims and his hatchet man(Al Mustapha, Sergent Rogers) against any person that he thought stood against his 'Power'..Have you ever heard of the Oputa's Panel.

Nuff said
[/b]

^^
[size=28pt]Abacha Never looted !!![/size]

I have been suspecting for several months that Abacha never looted, and now I have discovered how Obasanjo and IBB consipired with associates and Foreign bankers to decieve Nigerians to believe that he looted.

Some background:

Abacha's achievements were said to include:

*The stablisation of the political terrain, after the annulment of the June 12, 1992 elections by General Babangida and the political upheavals that followed it, leading to the exit of General Babangida and the installation and the exit of the interim administration of Chief Ernest Shonekan.

*The stabilisation of the value of the naira and its stoppage from further devaluation (maintained at $1=N22 for his entire era);

*The increase in the country's foreign exchange reserves from $494 million dollars in 1993 to $9.6 billion by the middle of 1997;

*The improvement in the general standard of living of Nigerians during the regime;

*The establishment of the Petroleum Trust Fund and the improvement in the infrastructural services it occasioned;

*The caging of, and the reduction in the influences of the IMF/World Bank in the Nigerian economy, which reached its height during the regime of General Babangida;

*The prudent management of the annual budgets of the Federal Government; the reduction in the external debt of Nigeria from $36 billion in 1993 to $27 billion by 1997;

*Improvement in the salaries and pensions of public servants;

*The unprecedented provision of money for the settlement of internal debts which had been incurred by previous administrations but for which little or no provisions for their settlement had been made until the Abacha's regime.

*Oil prices were as low as $9/barrel , yet Abacha was able to also intervene in two regional conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia to play Nigeria's rightful role as a regional superpower.

*All privatisation (selling off of Nigeria's assets) were brought to halt by Abacha by 1995.

*Abacha inherited inflation rate of 54% from IBB in 1993 and had reduced it to 8.5% by 1998

*Abacha's Vision 2010 was submitted to Abacha in September, 1997. The Visioners consisted of 247 elite Nigerians, under the chairmanship of Chief (Dr.) Ernest Shonekan, the preceding head of state to General Abacha. The committee was assisted by 141 technical and secretariat staff, drawn from the Presidency, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), federal ministries, the National Assembly, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the universities and the private sector. In addition, 29 Facilitators, 24 Resource persons, and 17 consultants, including foreign experts from Asia, Europe and America, participated in the Vision. The 247 members included the country's major emirs, obis, and obas, Christian and Muslim religious leaders, leading industrialists, commercialists, bankers and academicians, many of whom are now very prominent leaders in the ongoing Obasanjo reform administration. In its letter of transmission of the report to Abacha, the Visioners stated that, "The Report is the outcome of 12 plenary meetings, 57 around-the country meetings and workshops, 53 sub-committee meetings, field studies, and, thousands of memoranda from the public, including input from federal ministries, state governments, private sector institutions, Nigerians domiciled out of the country, and some foreigners who have interest in the welfare and livelihood of Nigeria". These foreigners are now called, " Development Partners" in the Obasanjo administration.

The Report proposed both immediate, short-term, medium term, and long-term measures to stimulate and grow the economy of Nigeria. The Committee rightly adumbrated that, "all of us, and not one single segment of the society or a single administration, could be strictly said to be responsible for our problems. The Committee then proceeded to ask, and answer, three questions about the country; viz: "Where we are, and why?" Where do we want to be?" And, "How do we get there", so that by 2010, Nigeria will be a democratic society, committed to making the basic needs of life affordable for everyone and creating Africa's leading economy?"

Now, please ask yourself what would prompt a blind probe of a government that had performed so well, other than pre-planned plot to assassinate his character after his assassination, to deflect attention from the really enemies of the state who had just stolen back power by poisoning Abacha.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=693700.msg8820027

[size=18pt]Please ask yourself what would prompt a blind probe for financial mismanagement of a leader that had performed so well?[/size]

My theory is that IBB and Obasanjo needed to scapegoat Abacha, to deflect attention from IBB and how he ruined the country.

Immediately after Abacha was poisoned I believe IBB was calling the shots from behind the scenes although Adulsalami Abubakar was the figure head transitional Head of State.

I believe IBB wanted to blame Abacha for Nigeria's problems as he had ambitions of returning eventually to the seat of power (maybe after Obj had served 1 term in office.









[size=21pt]Here is how I believe Obasanjo and IBB made it appear that Abacha had stolen money[/size]

Obasanjo and Babangida hired one of their associates who may have a foreign bank account already, pose as Abacha's associate.
IBB or Obj would have money transferred into their account and then in court they would falsely claim to be a business associate of Abacha and would agree to refund money to Nigerian Government,
However when the case is reported to the press Obasanjo's representatives would say that Abacha and his associates have has agree in court that to refund whatever large amount typically between $20million and about $600million.

For an instance if Abacha's had $0 and the associate had $1.5bn, some press reports would report Abacha and his cronies or associate or family and friends have $1.5bn in foreign accounts.

The reports never breakdown how much of money attributable to Abacha and how much to Obasanjo's hired "associates"









Now consider the following news story which is typical

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1606565.stm

[size=18pt]18 October, 2001, BBC News 12:45 GMT 13:45 UK
Britain goes after Abacha millions[/size]

The British High Court has given the government the go-ahead to help Nigeria trace more than $1bn allegedly looted by late dictator Sani Abacha.

The decision came after lawyers failed to challenge a Home Office decision to help Nigerian and Swiss officials recover money said to have been traced to London.
The Press Association said the lawyers were acting for Mohammed Abacha, the dictator's son, and Abubakar Bagudu, Abacha's London-based partner.

Nigeria is trying to recover more than $3bn allegedly embezzled during General Abacha's rule which ended with his death in 1998.

Britain was asked last year to help recover the money.

Account freeze

Six months ago, Britain's financial watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, revealed that 23 London banks had handled $1.3bn belonging to family and friends of General Abacha.

Earlier this month, judicial authorities in Britain reportedly ordered some of the world's largest banks to freeze accounts believed to belong to the dictator


[size=20pt]The big evidence I found that proves, my suspicion is that the named "associate" in the above BBC News story, Abubakar Bagudu turns out to be a full member of the PDP esablishment, who has been handsomely rewarded by being selected as PDP Senator for Kebbi 2008.


Ladies and Gentlemen this is the evidence that should indicate that there is a conspiracy to paint to delibrately paint Abacha as a looter.[/size]



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abubakar_Atiku_Bagudu
[size=18pt]
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu was born on 26 December 1961.[1] Although Bagudu claimed to come from a wealthy family owning millions, in fact his father was formerly the director of Primary Education in Kebbi.[2] He obtained a BSc (Economics), Msc (Economics) and M.A. (International Affairs).[1]

Bagudu became a close friend of Ibrahim and Mohammed Abacha, sons of military ruler Sani Abacha.[3] 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.[2]

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 $750m. At that time, there were no criminal prosecution.[3] 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 US$300 million to the Federal Government of Nigeria.[4] 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.[5] Bagudu was Chairman of Phil Nugent Nigeria Ltd. from 2004 until December 2005[/size]

Have you noticed the total absence of reliable video interviews of Abacha's family members?

Nigerians please question everything you hear from our leaders and our corrupt press.





[size=18pt]And the same Bagudu was Chairman of Phil Nugent Nigeria Ltd. from 2004 until December 2005,
A company that went on to be awarded a $1billion contract by the government

http://naijanaz..com/2007/09/prelude-to-fraud.html.[/size]

[size=20pt]HOW BRIBED PDP STOOGE POSING AS ABACHA'S BUSINESS ASSOCIATE MALICIOUSLY IMPLICATED ABACHA IN FOREIGN COURT CASE[/size]

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''.

http://holysmoke.org/minton/mintonia.htm

SEN.BAGUDU ABUBAKAR ATIKU

Senator, 7th National Assembly (2011-2015)

Date of Birth: 1961-12-28
Marital Status: Married
Political Party: Peoples Democratic Party
State: Kebbi
Senatorial District: Kebbi Central
Date of Assumption: 2011-05-29
Seat Up Date: 2015-05-29
senatecontact@nass.gov.ng
Share Education:
BSc (Economics), Msc (Economics),
M.A. (International Affairs)


Awards & Honours:


Occupation: Legislator

Previous Elected Office:


Legistlative Experience:

http://www.nassnig.org/nass/portfolio/profile.php?id=sen.abubakarbagudu

[size=23pt]Here is another reason to question whether Abacha ever looted:[/size]

Abacha Loot Trial - Swiss Bid to Take Evidence Aborted
Emeka Mamah Kaduna
16 March 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lagos — THE Swiss judicial officers who arrived Nigeria last week to take evidence from witnesses in respect of money stolen by the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, left for their country weekend without taking evidence from those listed to appear before them.

The officers sat at the office of the legal officer to the National Security Adviser (NSA) on Wednesday and Thursday in Abuja but none of the witnesses appeared.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200803170701.html

If there was any real evidence Abacha looted why did no witnesses appear to nail Abacha once and for all?

[size=23pt]Swiss court document on so-called "Abacha Loot" case, shows Abacha was maliciously and unjustly blamed[/size]

http://www.mcswisslaw.com/pages_e/2008%20Monfrini%20-%20The%20Abacha%20Case.pdf

[size=18pt]" The existence of a system of confiscation orders that is independent from a criminal conviction is therefore a necessity in grand corruption cases. In this context, reversing the burden of proof or imposing procedural consequences on the failure of the asset holder to cooperate regarding the origin of the assets, appear to be best legislative practice. The presumption of innocence does not necessarily apply to confiscation proceedings and ‘presumptions of fact or of law operate in every criminal-law system and are not prohibited in principle’ and therefore do not breach the right to a fair trial.28 "[/size]


[size=18pt]This is 21 page Swiss court document but the above extract is very revealing indeed.

Basically, by qualifying Abacha's family members together with PDP stooges claiming to be Abacha's business associates as a 'Criminal Organisation', Nigerian Government did not need to prove that the funds in the foreign accounts belonged to Abacha, The Onus was on Abacha to proof that he was innocent of the charges.

Of course a deceased man could not do that.

Abacha's son Mohammed could not fully challenge the allegations as he was locked up at the time by Obasanjo on trumped up charges.[/size]

The media were saying that Abacha's family were going to court to defend the loot, but I have done extensive research and have not seen any evidence they looted let alone go to court to defend looted money. The only reason any Abacha's family member may go to court would be to clear their name of malicious and unjust allegations of looting.