Gen Sanni Abacha, his family and cronies looted over $5 billion and stashed them in various jurisdictions across the globe.
Nigeria’s secret police, Department of State Services (DSS) has granted five children of the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha, free movement in and out of the country.
The children are Fatima (Gumsu) Sani Abacha, Mahmoud Sani Abacha, Mustapha Sani Abacha, Sadi Sani Abacha and Zainab Sani Abacha.
The comes as a leaked DSS memo ordering the arrest of the convener of #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, upon arrival in Nigeria, was exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters on Thursday.
The memo granting the dictator’s children free access in and out of Nigeria, reads, “DSE:9A/6180 X WATCHLIST ACTION X EYE AM DIRECTED TO INFO YOURS THAT X THE DGSS HAS APPROVED WLA 'R' (CASUAL OBSERVAT ION) X VIDE DSE. 9A/6179 X AGAINST THE FOLLOWING PERSONS AL PHA X FATIMA (GUMSU) SANI ABACHA X BRAVO X MAHMOUD SA
NI ABACHA CHARLIE X MUSTAPHA SANI ABACHA X DELTA X SADI
O SANI ABACHA X ECHO X ZAINAB SANI ABACHA X THEY SHOUL
D BE ALLOWED FREE MOVEMENT WHEN SEEN AT ANY OF THE TRAV EL AND ALIENS CONTROL X TAC X POINTS X THIS IS FOR YOUR STRI CT COMPLIANCE X PLEASE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.”
It was signed by Adeola D. Ali for NISEC NHSS.
Reacting to the memo, Sowore in a post on his X account on Thursday, wrote, “While the Nigerian lawless @OfficialDSSNG acting on the instructions of @officialABAT is busy hounding journalists, human rights activists, and good governance advocates in and around Nigeria, the agency downgraded the threat status of the corrupt, despotic and kleptocratic Abacha family.
“Gen Sanni Abacha, his family and cronies looted over $5 billion and stashed them in various jurisdictions across the globe.
“The monies are still being refunded to date, yet they are now free to roam the world and retrieve some of their loot while those who fought against Abacha, are freshly being hounded. #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria #Revolutionnow #FearlessInOctober.”
Earlier in September, SaharaReporters reported that Nigeria’s secret police, DSS, had instructed airport security and immigration authorities to intercept and detain Sowore upon his arrival in Nigeria.
It was learnt that the directive, issued by the newly appointed DSS Director General, Adeola Ajayi, stemmed from Sowore's role in the recent 10-day #EndBadGovernance protests.
Also, a trusted source at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos revealed to SaharaReporters last Wednesday that Ajayi had included Sowore's name on a security watchlist, citing his involvement in the #EndBadGovernance protests and forthcoming October 1 demonstration as justification.
The grace granted to Abacha’s children comes as the Nigerian government is hounding human rights activists, peaceful protesters and journalists perceived as enemies of the government for daring to speak the truth.
Abacha ruled Nigeria with an iron fist between 1993 and 1998, when he suddenly died in office.
He seized power on 17 November 1993 after he dislodged the Ernest Shonekan-led interim government installed by the regime of Ibrahim Babangida.
An estimate of $5 billion was said to have been stolen from Nigeria during Abacha’s five-year rule, with his family allegedly hiding most of the loot in Switzerland, as well as in other jurisdictions including Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom and the United States.
His rule heralded an unprecedented total disregard for human rights with several political assassinations and summary executions of dissidents and political opponents in Nigeria.
Those who held other views about his regime also disappeared without a trace.
A very interesting equation was when he ordered the deaths of Generals Oladipo Diya and Abdukareem Adisa for plotting to sack him.
Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, a Nigerian pro-democracy campaigner and wife of Moshood Abiola was assassinated during Abacha’s regime.
In an article published in Newsweek, a US based publication, in May 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari said close to $1 billion was stolen from Nigeria “under a previous, undemocratic junta in the 1990s”.
Although Buhari did not mention the name of Abacha, it was clear that he was referring to the late dictator.
Also, a former US Ambassador to Nigeria Mary Leonard, in a statement said Abacha and his allies took around $334.7 million in cash, which the US later returned to Nigeria.
The majority of the recovered funds were hidden away in Jersey Island, the United States, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. In 1999, during the Abdulsalami administration, $750 million was found.
The Olusegun Obasanjo administration was responsible for the recovery of $1.2 billion in 2002, $149 million from Jersey Island, UK in 2003, $500 million from Switzerland in 2004, and an additional $458 million from Switzerland in 2005.
The Jonathan administration saw the recovery of $1 billion from Switzerland in 2012 and $380 million in 2015. In 2014, the Jonathan administration also recovered $227 million from Liechtenstein and $48 million from the US.
In February 2020, the Buhari government was able to retrieve $311 million from Jersey Island, United Kingdom, and $322 million from Switzerland. The federal government under Buhari and the United States government inked a deal in August 2022 for the restitution of more than $23 million that Abacha had embezzled.
Long after the dictator’s death 26 years ago, Nigeria is still recovering the proceeds of his corruption and more are reportedly yet to be recovered.
Follow the Sahara Reporters channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaFClvtH5JM6SSsP7M2Y