United States Returns $52.88m Diezani Loot to Nigeria

The Federal Government has received $52.88 million in recovered Galactica assets linked to a former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, from the United States of America, Channels Television has reported.

According to the television station, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, disclosed this in Abuja, on Friday, during the formal signing ceremony of the asset agreement between Nigeria and the United States.

During the event, Fagbemi explained that $50 million of the recovered assets would be deployed through the World Bank for the development of rural electrification projects, while the remaining $2 million would be used by the International Institute of Justice to expand the justice system and combat corruption.

Attorney-General noted that the asset return marks a milestone in the ongoing collaboration between Nigeria and the USA to combat official corruption and uphold the rule of law.

He also described the event as a significant step by President Bola Tinubu in addressing corruption.

In his remarks, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Richard Mills, called for effective monitoring and utilisation of the recovered assets by the Ministry of Justice to ensure they benefit Nigerians.