THIS DAY IN HISTORY FEBRUARY 21


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FEATURED EVENT

Malcolm X

1965 – Malcolm X assassinated Malcolm X, who articulated concepts of racial pride and black nationalism in the United States, was assassinated this day in 1965 and became an ideological hero after the posthumous release of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Richard M. Nixon

1972 – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon paid a state visit to the People’s Republic of China, ending a 21-year estrangement between the communist country and the United States.

Washington, D.C.: Washington Monument

1885 – The Washington Monument was dedicated on the grounds of the Mall in Washington, D.C.

Another Nigerian Woman Sentenced To Death For Killing Husband


Abubakar Ahmadu MaishanuA court used to illustrate the storyA court used to illustrate the story

A high court in Kano on Friday sentenced a woman to death for killing her husband.

The judge, Ahmad Badamasi, found Rashida Sa’idu, 31, guilty of murder after she reportedly threw her husband, Adamu Ali, from a storey building following a suspicious phone call.

Mr Ali was a lecturer at the Federal College of Education in Kano.

Ms Sa’idu reportedly killed her husband on February 20 2019 at their residence at Dorayi quarters, in Gwale Local Government Area in the state.

Crisis began between the couple when the wife accused her late husband of cheating on her by making a phone call to another woman.

READ ALSO: Death Sentence: Lawyers speak on legal options open to Maryam Sanda

The late husband, Mr Ali, reportedly broke his neck which led to his death.

Mrs Sa’idu was Mr Ali’s student at the Federal College of Education in Kano before their marriage. She was the man’s second wife and they had two children.

This development is coming in less than a month after another court in Abuja sentenced to death Maryam Sanda who was also found guilty of killing her husband.

Ideologues Like Leopards Never Change Their Spots


Should Nigeria have released Boko Haram suspects?

February 20, 2020 By Jideofor Adibe Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Nasarawa State University, Keffi

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The Conversation is funded by the National Research Foundation, eight universities, including the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Rhodes University, Stellenbosch University and the Universities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Pretoria, and South Africa. It is hosted by the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Western Cape, the African Population and Health Research Centre and the Nigerian Academy of Science. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a Strategic Partner. more

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Military commanders inspect arms and ammunitions recovered from Boko Haram jihadists. Audu Marte/AFP via Getty Images

The Nigerian government recently announced that it had released about 1,400 Boko Haram suspects. The reason given was they had repented and were to be re-integrated into society. The government said the releases – which happened in three tranches – were part of its four-year old de-radicalisation programme called Operation Safe Corridor.

The announcement generated a lot of angst. Opposition leaders attacked the decision, as did soldiers fighting the terrorists.

These reactions mask a fundamental challenge facing governments in conflict situations: how does it deal with defectors? Simply executing combatants, or detaining them indefinitely, aren’t viable options. De-radicalisation and re-integration programmes therefore become unavoidable.

As several commentators on the Boko Haram conflict have repeatedly maintained, such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a purely military solution won’t defeat the group.

Generally ‘de-radicalisation’ is understood to involve having people with extreme and violent religious or political ideologies adopt more moderate and non-violent views. The approach is predicated on the assumption that terrorists, and others with extremist views, can be engaged in a way that can reduce their risk of re-offending.

But there are a number of questions that ‘de-radicalisation’ and ‘re-integration’ programmes raise. These include: is it possible to screen the combatants well enough to measure what level of threat they pose? This is a problem in a country like Nigeria where the basis of selecting those who are being released isn’t transparent. For example, there are allegations that criminal elements in the military have colluded with Boko Haram to secure the release of unrepentant terrorists.

Soldiers inspect a damaged Armoured Personnel Carrier recovered from Boko Haram jihadists. Audu Marte/AFP via Getty Images

Another question that’s raised is: how can we ensure that the ‘former terrorists’, if re-integrated into the society, do not end up radicalising others in the community, or becoming spies to their former terrorist masters?

And is it fair to rehabilitate the combatants without also rehabilitating their victims?

Most countries faced with violent extremism and terrorism have adopted one form or another of de-radicalisation programmes. Whether they have worked or not is hard to judge because assessments are very often made by people responsible for the programmes. But one thing is clear: governments don’t have many viable alternatives.

Nigeria’s programmes

Nigeria has three main de-radicalisation programmes. One is located in Kuje prison, Abuja, and was set up by the Nigerian government in 2014. Participants are combatants convicted of violent extremist offences and inmates awaiting trial. The aim of the programme is to combat religious ideology and offer vocational training as a prelude to re-integrating them into communities.

There is also the Yellow Ribbon Initiative which is located in communities in Borno State, in the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency in the north of the country. This is organised by a not for profit organisation, the Neem Foundation. It was set up in 2017 and targets women, children and young people associated with Boko Haram.

The third is Operation Safe Corridor, which was set up in 2016 by the government. It targets Boko Haram combatants who have surrendered. This approach targets three key issues: religious ideology, structural or political grievances and post-conflict trauma.

The project engages Imams to work with those in the programme on religion. Participants are also offered training in rudimentary vocational skills. And they are offered therapy to overcome the trauma they faced as members of Boko Haram.

Experiences elsewhere

A wide range of countries have introduced de-radicalisation programmes.

In Africa, the four Lake Chad basin countries – Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad – have their own versions. In Somalia, the Serendi Rehabilitation Centre in Mogadishu offers support to ‘low-risk’ former members of Al-Shabaab.

In Northern Ireland, the Early Release Scheme ensured the conditional release of convicted terrorists under the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. It was deemed essential to sustaining the country’s peace process.

In Colombia, former guerrillas who fought for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia were invited to join a peace building programme called the ‘collective reincorporation’.

Do they work?

There is no consensus on what constitutes success in reforming a terrorist.

There is, however, general acceptance that a narrow focus on recidivism as the key metric has been discredited. This is because the reasons for peoples’ behaviour isn’t always understood. For example, re-offending could well have been stimulated by new impulses after release. On the other hand, not re-offending does not necessarily mean the person has abandoned extremist views.

There is also confusion about whether any kind of rehabilitation is necessarily brought about by the de-radicalisation programme. For example, it could be more about the desire for freedom, or to access some benefits that go with a rehabilitation programme.

Measuring success isn’t easy. Official information is likely to be biased as the state and groups running programmes are wont to paint a rosy picture to justify the expenditure.

Inmates walk in a line after they were handed over to state officials for rehabilitation. Audu Marte/AFP via Getty Images

Additionally, whether a de-radicalisation programme is deemed successful or not may be subjective depending on what metrics are used. A good example is the research done for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. It praised Nigeria’s Operation Safe Corridor to the high heavens, arguing that it was a model of rehabilitation for Africa as well as the Western world. Yet a report for the Carnegie Foundation was very critical of the programme on several grounds. This included a lack of clarity on eligibility and as well as how former combatants would be re-integrated into civilian life.

Not many options

The question often not asked about de-radicalisation programmes is: what’s the alternative?

Framed this way, it’s obvious that governments facing challenges of terrorism and violent extremism have virtually no other alternative.

But that shouldn’t stop criticism of the way in which programmes are run. The Nigerian government’s release of 1,400 former Boko Haram fighters is a case in point. It was handled badly, not least because the public was told after the event.

The timing was also inauspicious. There is currently a resurgence of attacks by the terrorist group. At the same time President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is facing a declining sense of legitimacy . These factors helped harden attitudes and drove the push-back from Nigerians.

I Believe In Today!


Tanya Sheik   16th Feb 2020 buddingspark

Everyone of us run behind our future which is a mystery by sticking in the past where we are not belongs to anymore, by leaving our Today! The present day.

But it’s not the case with me!! I live in present, I feel it and I just don’t want any regrets in my old days when I become too old and need a stick to balance myself with wrinkled face! I don’t want myself to say, I should have done this (or) that, I should have confessed it that moment itself. I just wanna live this life at this moment and I don’t want to miss it in anyway!!

So, my fellow bloggers, I want you too do the same. LIVE TODAY, FEEL IT, ENJOY IT cuz, life is very short for regrets. If you are interested in somebody go and tell you love them. If you wanna make your friend feel special, please go and tell that ” You are my best friend forever!!BFF” If you wanna ask apology go and tell Sorry!

Do it Today! Don’t wait for tomorrow! Tomorrow never comes!!!! Cuz, who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Stay healthy!!!!

Have a good Sunday❤

Love

Tanyamunavar

Kano court voids report recommending Emir Sanusi’s suspension


Nasir IbrahimMuhammadu Sanusi, Emir of KanoMuhammadu Sanusi, Emir of Kano [PHOTO: expressiveinfo.com/]

The Federal High Court in Kano on Friday dismissed the preliminary report of the state Public Complaint and Anti-corruption Commission (PCACC) which recommended the suspension of the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, pending investigations into alleged financial misappropriation of the emirate’s funds.

Justice O. A. Egwuatu said PCACC did not give the emir an opportunity to be heard before releasing the report on him, adding that such an omission was against the principle of fair hearing.

The emir had sued PCACC, the governor of Kano State and the state Attorney-General. He asked the court to declare that the findings of PCACC contained in its preliminary report issued on June 6, 2019, were a breach of his fundamental right to fair hearing and contrary to the rules of natural justice.

Mr Sanusi also asked for an order of the court to quash the preliminary report as it relates to his indictment for fraud, misappropriation, as well as the recommendation for his suspension by the commission.

READ ALSO: KANO ASSEMBLY IMPEACH MAJORITY LEADER

While granting the emir’s prayers, the court equally awarded him a cost of N200, 000.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Kano State High Court presided by Justice Sulaiman Na-Mallam had also restrained the state Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission from continuing to investigate Mr Sanusi.

The preliminary report issued by the commission had asked Kano State government to suspend Mr Sanusi pending the final outcome of investigation of alleged financial misappropriation of emirate’s fund amounting to over N3.5 billion.

Counsel to the emir, Suraj Sa’ida, presented an ex- parte application requesting the court to restrained the anti-corruption commission from continuing with its investigation against the emir.

The probe was criticised as an attempt by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to punish the monarch over his alleged support for Abba Yusuf of the opposition People Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 governorship election. The emir denied that he supported the PDP candidate in the poll.

Mr Ganduje also carved out four emirates, Gaya, Rano Karaye and Bichi from Emir Sanusi’s kingdom, apparently to curtail the monarch’s influence.

Award-winning journalist donates cash prize to release of prison inmates


Aishat BabatundeFisayo Soyombo donates N500k journalism prize for release of awaiting-trial inmatesFisayo Soyombo donates N500k journalism prize for release of awaiting-trial inmates

Nigerian investigative journalist and joint-winner of the People Journalism Prize for Africa (PJPA) 2019, Fisayo Soyombo, says he is donating his N500,000 cash prize to aid the release of “awaiting-trial inmates who have no business in prison”.

He recently carried out an undercover investigation on Nigeria’s prison system.

Last month, Gatefield Foundation, a Sub-Saharan Africa public strategy firm and organiser of the journalism award, named Mr Soyombo and Kiki Mordi, a BBC journalist who is known for her investigative documentary on sexual harassment in some West African universities, as the inaugural winners of the $3,000 journalism prize (approximately N1 million).

They were recognised in Abuja for “subjecting themselves to the excruciating torture of the injustice that they sought to expose in telling these stories.”

Elation

Receiving the award alongside his co-winner, Ms Mordi on Thursday, Mr Soyombo said his decision to donate the prize was informed by the sheer feeling of civil responsibility to drive the course of social justice and freedom.

“My three-part investigation may have focused on the deep-seated corruption tarnishing the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria, but that isn’t the only frailty of the system.

“One other is the huge population of awaiting-trial inmates, many of them actually in prison for trivial offences and others not even deserving of detention much less imprisonment in the first place. At Ikoyi Prison, for example, more than 3,000 inmates inhabit a prison built for 800. Of these 3,000, less than 500 are convicts; the number of awaiting-trial inmates usually hovers around 2,500.

“While I am not in a position to help the prisons service clean up its corrupt house, by donating this money, I can at least help to kick-start a process I’m hoping can snowball into prison decongestion through the freedom of scores of awaiting-trial inmates,” Mr Soyombo said.

The fund, he said, will be managed by Abimbola Ojenika of The Justice Project whom he described as “a man of integrity and a hardworking but silent force for social change.”

He said the cash will be used to pay stipends to lawyers who will visit prisons to track the cases, ensure more inmates have their days in court, represent the inmates, settle fines where necessary and provide support to the inmates.

“Aside focusing on the possibility of innocence and frivolity of cases against inmates, women with babies and inmates with young families back home will receive special consideration,” he added.

Expressing gratitude to his parents, colleagues and all those who helped him with the investigation, he dedicated the award to a late friend whom until her death was one of his biggest cheerleaders.

“When she passed on September 3, 2018, I made a little promise to myself that my next journalism award would be for her. I want to thank Gatefield for helping me realise this,” he said.

‘Win for the people’

For Ms Mordi, winning the award is a testament to people’s pervasiveness to true journalism and the clamour for social change.

“Before people would say journalists shouldn’t take sides; it has gone beyond that. In the face of injustice and social inequality, we cannot remain silent,” she said.

Award-winning journalist donates cash prize to release of inmates
Award-winning journalist donates cash prize to release of inmates
Award-winning journalist donates cash prize to release of inmates
Award-winning journalist donates cash prize to release of inmates
Award-winning journalist donates cash prize to release of inmates
The awardees, Kiki Mordi and Fisayo Soyombo with representatives of the country leader, UN Women in Nigeria

The new trend, she said, should be the drive for informed truth that pricks social justice.

Complimenting people’s support for her, she promised to strive for the course of justice at all times.

‘Media: democracy’s oxygen’

Meanwhile, in his keynote speech, Jude Ilo, Head of Nigeria Office of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) noted that invigorating journalism is pivotal to the sustainability iof democracy.

“A nation without journalists by all intents is dead. A democracy without thriving journalists cannot lay claim to being the actual democracy. Media is central to democracy.

“It is the oxygen of morality and gatekeeper of diversity,” he said.

Worried about government’s attempts at muzzling journalists, Mr Ilo urged journalists to remain resolute in their social commitment to holding the government to account.

“At the time Nigeria needed to find its footing, it was these journalists that gave us our voice, they are the ones who amplify our voices,” he said, recalling military high-handedness on journalists at the time.

“The price of freedom and the work of journalists is very grave and we should never take it for granted. For you to keep doing this work, it requires the collective appreciation of Nigerians.”

‘Adding glamour to journalism’

Adewunmi Emoruwa , Gatefield Lead Strategist, said the PJPA is a public service journalism initiative, instituted to add ‘glints of glamour’ to the practice of journalism.

“We believe three very important things: one, journalism matters; two, journalists should be proud of their work; and three, they must be supported and be praised for the job they do,” he said.

Mr Emoruwa said that authoritarian governments have tried to make the media illegitimate and want people to distrust the media “thus the dwindling media trust in Nigeria from 80 per cent in 2006 to 34 per cent now, according to a report by Researchers NG”.

“We need to do it right in the clamour for good journalism by restoring the glamour back to it,” he said.

He said he hoped their next journalism prize would scale up to $5,000 from its inaugural mark.

Akwa Ibom Government Shuts Technical College For Student Cult Activities


‘Teenagers carrying axes in schools instead of books’ – Akwa Ibom lawmakers

Cletus UkpongGovernor Udom Emmanuel at the maiden Akwa Ibom Education SummitGovernor Udom Emmanuel

The ills of cultism in Akwa Ibom secondary schools have become the focus of public discourse in the state, hours after the state government indefinitely shut a technical college in Uyo because of violent students’ protest.

The school, Government Technical College, Ewet, is notorious for violence clashes either among the students or against another secondary school nearby.

Cultism is believed to be the remote cause of the violence which, the police said, has left a divisional police officer hospitalised after he was attacked by students.

Two teachers in the school have sustained serious injuries, while 11 students have been arrested so far, according to the police.

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, during plenary on Thursday, condemned the rise of cultism across secondary schools in the state.

The debate on cultism in secondary schools was prompted by a motion from the member representing Ibiono Ibom State Constituency, Godwin Ekpo.

A statement from the media office of the Speaker, Aniekan Bassey, said the state assembly is worried that teenagers in secondary schools now carrying axes, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons instead of focusing on their studies.

A lawmaker representing Esit Eket/ Ibeno State Constituency, Usoro Akpanusoh, said on the floor of the House that “the way cultism is going” in Akwa Ibom secondary schools is how the terrorist group, Boko Haram, started.

“If we do not act now, we may be swallowed,” Mr Akpanusoh said.

“To solve the problem of cultism in our schools, we have to go beyond the scope of addressing the problem in our secondary schools. We have to propose a motion that every known cultist should be prohibited from holding public office because these children see them prosper and are encouraged to join so as to prosper too,” said the member representing Nsit Atai State Constituency, Mark Esset, in his contribution to the debate.

Another lawmaker, Aniekan Uko, said the problem of cultism in secondary schools is more complex because parents, according to him, were buying guns for their children, and the teachers and police officers are cultists too.

“We can’t sit down here to blame the students alone. We should start from the home because parental guide is the key.

“We have to be honest with ourselves; are we doing well as a government to discourage cultism? These children do they have what to keep them engaged in school? Some of the teachers are known cultists. What do you expect from the students?

“Some of the policemen called to address the issue are still cultists. Some parents when these children are growing, you buy gun and give them. What do you expect them to become? It is time teachers should be interrogated and investigated if they are cultists during recruitment, before they are employed,” said Mr Uko who represents Ibesikpo-Asutan State Constituency.

The Speaker, Mr Bassey, after listening to lawmakers’ contributions on the matter, directed the joint committees on education, security to meet with the state Ministry of Education, the state Technical School Board and the State Secondary Education Board, and submit a report to the House within a month.

Meanwhile, the state government has said it would not hesitate to close down more secondary schools in the state to check indiscipline and hooliganism among students.

The Commissioner for Education, Nse Essien, stated this on Thursday while addressing the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meeting of Uyo High School, Uyo.

Apart from the Government Technical College, Uyo High School is another secondary school notorious for violence within the Uyo metropolis.

Vehicular traffic was disrupted for more than an hour along a major road in Uyo on Valentine’s Day when violence broke out in Uyo High School.

“You all have the duty to advise your child,” Mr Essien said at the Uyo High School PTA meeting.

“If you can’t bring up children who have good character, it means you came to earth to waste your time. All these things start at home. The government is doing so much for the children and we expect them to reciprocate by behaving well and taking their studies seriously.”

Naked Blogging: Steps In Between


February 21, 2020Peter B. Giblett Naked Blogging

Naked Blogging: About getting to the heart of blogs, exposing some work from around the globe.

When he created the Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver exclaimed “It’s not him, it’s the food!” While it true that naked blogging could be literally true. Who is to know the state of clothing every blogger has when writing? One aspect blogging brings to the world is that ability to strike when the inventive spark hits. 

Naked Blogging

Naked blogging is more a concept of getting to grips with what bloggers are saying. Firstly, the idea – take a quick look at somebody else’s blog and see what they are saying or doing, secondly it is about linking to some people I wish well.

This is not the first time I have done that. A while ago I looked at ProBlogger and what he learned about Blogging.

There are lots of bloggers doing lots of different things. Few reach the superstar status of ProBlogger, yet every page published means something.

If your site gets featured here it is because I found something interesting on your site.

Steps in Between

Celaine Charles writes a blog called Steps In Between. A little while ago, Christine Tabaka posted a link about an interview on my Blog Talk Space Facebook Group. This was the start point to write this post.

Well, the interview by Celaine Charles of Christine Tabaka was the start point for this page. Celaine Charles, describes herself as “a want-to-be-writer.” From what I have seen she is a bit more accomplished than that. 

Interview

The interview dates from October 2019. The subject being “2017 Pushcart nominee, Ann Christine Tabaka.” Similarly, what I like about this is that the blogger has managed to connect with somebody who is already accomplished and get an interview with the. Not only is it about building connections but also it expands the horizons of the writer.

Similarly, their aim – create a series based on a set of interviews, The November 2019 interview was with Christine Grabowski. I like the idea of interviews. If you can do it this can be a way to extend the scope of your blog. She also has other interviews, including February 2020 with Pamela Hobart Carter (Writer, Poet, Playwright, Artist).

I wish the writer well with this series. Interviews can be a great way to become popular. Then my question is what else does she write about. Back to her blog, Steps in Between, for a wider search.

Blog Focus

Celaine Charles’s blog is focused on a writing and poetry. In one post the theme is: Character Developing: The Story and the Author, a skill that a fictional writer needs to develop. That page is well worth the read. An interesting thought about development:

“Instead of the flat silhouettes my first book characters held in the beginning of development, these new one’s buzz with energy. They are simply awaiting their new forms to join us on the sofa…or in the car…or on a hike into the beautiful pacific northwest.”

Celaine Charles

She posts about four times a month, a good consistency. It enables readers to go back for more, knowing that every time they visit there is something new and interesting to read.

Personal thoughts

Still, if there is one piece of advice that I would offer Celaine Charles is to adopt a theme that exposes more historical pieces to her readers. On the front page she should have access to historical pages, either by showing more on the front page or providing access to categories or the historical archive. Personally, I believe historical articles provide great value, few blog pages are outdated.

Intentionally, I took a day off from writing,” she comments in one article about taking time off from writing. In the same way, there is rarely a day I don’t write. I didn’t write yesterday but I was feeling unwell, so it is a reasonable excuse.

Special note: On Blog Talk Space I have decided to add the Naked Blogging category to review other blogs. Welcome to Naked Blogging together with you, my readers we can explore the world of blogging.

Wither Nigerian Govt’s Anticorruption Crusade


Buhari wants to pay $100 million to Kebbi governor who helped Abacha loot Nigeria – Report

Taiwo-Hassan AdebayoKebbi State Governor, Atiku BaguduKebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu (Photo Credit: Daily Trust)

Nigeria is committed to a deal that would help Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, keep over $100 million from funds stolen by late kleptocrat, Sani Abacha, according to court documents reported by Bloomberg, putting cooperation with the United States over Abacha loot recovery at risk.

The deal was first negotiated in 2003 under the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, and then updated in 2018 under President Muhammadu Buhari, whose administration now reportedly insists on not backing recovery efforts against Mr Bagudu

Mr Bagudu was one of Mr Abacha’s bagman, using phoney companies to siphon and move stolen funds across transnational borders, when the kleptocrat ruled Nigeria between 1993 and 1998. He spent six months in a U.S. federal prison in 2003, while awaiting extradition to British dependent Jersey to answer questions relating funds traced to the account of Doraville Properties Corp, a company he controlled alongside Mohammed Abacha, to stash stolen money abroad.

But before he was handed over to authorities at Jersey, Mr Bagudu quickly negotiated a deal with the U.S. and Jersey authorities to “return more than $163 million of the allegedly laundered assets to Nigeria in exchange for Jersey’s withdrawal of the extradition request and his return to Nigeria,” according to a court document previously reported by PREMIUM TIMES.

The 2003 deal was approved by a United Kingdom court, Bloomberg now reports, referencing a December 23 memorandum opinion by a Washington D.C. judge John Bates. In exchange for the money forfeited by Mr Bagudu under the 17-year old deal, Nigeria would not file any civil and criminal claims against him over “his involvement in government corruption,” according to the reported court document.
The implication: “Nigeria renounced any interest whatsoever” in Mr Bagudu’s trust assets, including those America wants to help the African nation recover, the court opinion reportedly stated.

President Muhammadu Buhari [Photo: Presidency]
President Muhammadu Buhari [Photo: Presidency]

Mr Bagudu then returned to Nigeria first to become a senator and then a governor of Kebbi State in Nigeria’s north.

American challenge

American court filings reportedly showed Mr Bagudu successfully sued the Nigerian government in 2018 for violating the 2003 deal. Then, the administration of Mr Buhari entered into an updated deal with the Kebbi governor, who like the president is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The updated deal requires a transfer of ownership of investment portfolios, worth 141 million euros ($155 million) to Nigeria, which would then pay 98.5 million euros ($106 million or N38.5 billion) to Mr Bagudu and his affiliates, according to the Washington judge’s opinion cited by Bloomberg.

The deal has since not been executed as the UK blocked the funds transfer following America’s request.

Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (Photo Credit: DailyPost)
Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (Photo Credit: DailyPost)

Notwithstanding, Nigeria reportedly insists it is bound by the updated 2018 deal and would not “assist” America in Mr Bagudu’s case.

Bloomberg reports that American officials are opposing the deal meant to help Mr Bagudu a part of the illicit funds.

Nigeria’s justice minister, Abubakar Malami, did not respond to requests for comment on this report, nor did Mr Bagudu. Mr Bagudu has consistently shunned PREMIUM TIMES’ repeated requests for his comment on our reporting of his role in helping Mr Abacha move stolen funds offshore.

The moves to recover the stolen funds linked to the Abacha junta started just after Mr Obasanjo got to the office in 1999. In April 2002, the Abacha family returned $1 billion to Nigeria in a deal which involved the Swiss Federal Office of Justice. The deal allowed the family to keep $100 million and required the government to drop “some criminal charges” against Mohammed, Mr Abacha’s son, New York Times reported then.

In 2006, another $723 million Abacha loot was returned to Nigeria from Switzerland but the use of the recovery was largely unaccounted, Transparency International said.

“That past experience led Switzerland to controversially attach conditions to the repatriation of this batch of Abacha loot (US$322 million in 2018), including third party oversight – meaning that the World Bank will now monitor the distribution of the funds,” reported Transparency International.

Nigeria has also recovered other tranches of Abacha loot, including the latest, US$308 million, laundered by Kebbi governor, Mr Bagudu, from Jersey.

Mr Abacha was a notorious kleptocrat and is listed alongside Indonesia’s Suharto and Mobutu Seko of Zaire (now DR Congo) among the worst state official thieves in the world by Transparency International. It is estimated that Mr Abacha stole between three billion and five billion dollars, most from Nigeria’s oil wealth.