Abacha Loot: Adeosun Refutes Reports On Payment To Lawyers

By Jide Afolabi

The Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has refuted reports that she wrote a “strongly-worded letter to the President” objecting to the payment of $16.9 million fees to two lawyers for the recovery of Abacha funds.

The Minister refuted the report in a press statement signed by Mr. Oluyinka Akintunde, Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister on Tuesday.

The statement reads: “The Minister wishes to dissociate herself and the Federal Ministry of Finance from recent malicious and misleading media reports on the Abacha refunds. The Minister had at no time written any letter to the President or any member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the payment of lawyers for the Abacha recovery.

Adeosun also refuted the flawed media reports of controversy surrounding the Abacha recovery, disclosing that the sum of US$322,515,931.83 was received into a Special Account in the Central Bank of Nigeria on December 18, 2017 from the Swiss Government.

She said, “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no controversy concerning the recovery of the Abacha monies from the Swiss Government”.

Reports had it that the Minister wrote a strong worded letter to the President, objecting to the payment of $16.9 million fees to two lawyers for the recovery of Abacha funds as requested by the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN.