A Royal Court in Jersey, United States, has reportedly ruled that stolen assets worth £6.9m ($8.9m) be repatriated to Nigeria.
Under the pretense of buying weapons to combat Boko Haram terrorists, Nigerian government officials are accused of misappropriating the aforementioned assets in 2014.
The BBC reports that the court determined that the funds, which were placed in a Jersey bank account, were probably taken in 2014 by Nigerian government employees.
During Jonathan’s administration, there had been controversy surrounding the acquisition of weaponry in the war against insurgency. Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Advisor at the time, had been accused of misappropriating monies intended for security equipment.
Also in late 2014, a private jet was arrested in South Africa with $10m cash, which was allegedly meant for the purchase of military weapons.
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However, the order of the Royal Court in Jersey followed a forfeiture notice to the court by Jersey’s Attorney General, Mark Temple KC.
The court held that the funds were deposited in a Jersey bank account and were not used for the arms purchase.
Temple stated that the Jerseyan government and Nigeria were working closely together to repatriate the assets.
Prior to the 2015 general election, the AG stated that a portion of the monies were distributed to the families of officials in the Peoples Democratic Party, which was in power at the time.
“This case again demonstrates the effectiveness of the 2018 Forfeiture Law in recovering the proceeds of corruption and restoring that money to victims of crime.
“I now intend to negotiate an asset return agreement with the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
