Hamza Al-Mustapha Explodes: So-Called Abacha Loot Belong To Nigerian Leaders After Him
Hamza Al-Mustapha, who served as Chief Security Officer to ex-military dictator, Sani Abacha has said his principal was innocent of all the money he had been accused of looting.Al-Mustapha, who is also a former major in the Nigerian Army said the money been repatriated to Nigeria described as ‘Abacha loot’ were not stolen by the late dictator but by Nigerian leaders who ruled after him.
He stated this while speaking with the Voice of America (VOA), Hausa Service.
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Recall that after more than 20 years, the U.S. government, the Bailiwick of Jersey, and the Government of Nigeria signed a deal for the return of more than $308 million, looted by Abacha, to the Nigerian people on February 3 at a ceremony hosted by the State Department in Washington DC.
The Department of State said the repatriated funds will be managed and used by the NSIA for three infrastructure projects in strategic economic zones across Nigeria to ensure that the funds are used “responsibly and for the good of the nation.”
According to Al-Mustapha, the said loots were money stolen by Nigerian leaders who assumed power after the death of Abacha, maintaining that all the reports are fabrications.
After the death of Abacha on 8 June 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar took over as the military head of state until 1999 when he handed over to Olusegun Obasanjo after a general election.
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He said when Abacha became the leader of Nigeria that the foreign reserve was about $200 billion. The figure, according to him, rose to $900 billion before Abacha died.
The former army major however did not not mention the name of either Abubakar or Obasanjo but left no one in doubt about those he was pointing at.
He explained that all the attribution of looted funds to Abacha was because he stepped on so many toes while in power, adding that some people, who had not yet forgotten what the late Abacha did to them, continue to sponsor such lies against him.
“I was forced to implicate the leadership of the defunct PTF under President Buhari then, during the military era. If there will be a genuine fight against corruption in Nigeria, many people will be arrested,” he added.
