Abacha Loot: Reps To Probe Malami Over $16.9 Lawyers’ Fee

Although the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has certified the recovery process of the $322.5m Sani Abacha loot as clean, the House of Representatives is thinking otherwise.

Adeosun had on Wednesday said: “There is no controversy whatsoever regarding the recovery. The $322.5m received from the Swiss Govt in December 2017 is with the Central bank.”

The minister made the clarification in reaction to the media reports claiming that she wrote President Muhammadu Buhari, objecting to the payment of the said sum as the legal fees in the recovery of the loot. “My attention has been drawn to false media reports of a “strongly-worded letter to the President” objecting to the payment of $16.9 million fees to two lawyers for the recovery of Abacha funds.”

Adeosun added, “Let me make this clear: the media reports claiming that I wrote to the President regarding the Abacha refunds are all false and should be disregarded.”

But regardless of the minister’s reputation, the House of Representatives, during a plenary on Thursday, set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the payment of the $16.9 million to the two lawyers — Oladipo Okpeseyi SAN and Temitope Adebayo — engaged by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to recover the Abacha loot.

This came after a motion was raised by Hon. Mark Gbillah from Benue State, asking the House to carry out a “forensic investigation” on the matter.

“It will be a conflict of interest if proven that the minister has initial relationship with the Nigerian lawyers,” said Gbillah.

Contributing to the motion, Hon. Nkem Abonta from Delta state said: “Somebody wants to create $16 million free money for no job done, at this era? Why is the AGF engaging another lawyer? What kind of change are we talking about? It is the height of injustice coming from the minister.”