The Federal Government has returned the £4.2m looted by former Governor, James Ibori, recently repatriated from the United Kingdom, according to Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris.
Idris made this known in Abuja on Tuesday when he appeared before the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective Efficient Management and Utilisation.
The Accountant-General, who was grilled by the committee for over one hour, stated that such funds looted from the treasury of a state are always returned to the state.
He added that states can sue the Federal Government to recover such funds.
Recall that the representatives of both the U.K. and Nigerian governments signed the agreement for the return of the money, which translates to about N2.4 billion, to Nigeria in Abuja on March 9.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said in a statement last Tuesday that the “naira equivalent value” of the total £4,214,017.66 “has been credited into the designated Federal Government account” since May 10.
His spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, who issued the statement, did not disclose the actual naira equivalent paid into the Nigerian government’s account.
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, last week, asked the FG to return the funds or invest in projects in the state.
Okowa said: “Letters have been written and we have made appeals to Mr president and the attorney general of the federation.
“We asked for two things, it’s either the money is returned to us or the money is applied to projects in Delta State and we have suggested some projects to which the money can be applied. The £4.2 million is about N2.2 billion by current exchange rates.”
But Malami argued that the funds would not be returned as it goes against the agreement signed with the UK government.
