Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has confirmed that the Federal Government of Nigeria has received £4,214,017.66 of the loot associated with the family members of a former Delta State Governor, James Ibori.
The minister’s spokesman, Dr. Umar Gwandu, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the amount has been credited into the designated federal government account with naira equivalent value of the amount as of May 10, 2021.
The Heritage Times had earlier reported that Malami, has attributed the delay in the final retrieval of the £4.2million Ibori loot from the United Kingdom (UK) to logistic challenges currently being addressed.
Rep member, Ndudi Elumelu had earlier insisted that the Ibori loot belonged to the people of Delta and should be refunded to the coffers of the state government for developmental purposes, as other assets seized by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from Bayelsa and Abia states, were returned to those states.
Hon. Elumelu lamented that the £4.2 million, being proceeds of looted funds recovered from Ibori was being transferred to the coffers of the federal government for appropriation without recourse to the Delta government.
“If the federal government is allowed to appropriate the fund without recourse to the Delta Government, the people of the state will be short-changed.
“They will be deprived of their legitimate resources to improve on the economy of the state as well as provide the requisite infrastructure for their benefit,” NAN quoted Elumelu.
