Abacha loot: Group advises NASS against witch-hunting Malami

AS the House of Representatives’ Ad-Hoc Committee commences public hearing today into the scheduled payment of five per cent professional fees to Nigerian lawyers who completed the repatriation of the $322.5 million Abacha loot, a socio-political youth group, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Grassroots Youth for Change, on Tuesday warned against the witch-hunt of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) in the interest of Natural justice and fair play.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the National Coordinator of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Grassroots Youth for Change, Mr Orlu Henry Manuchimso, advised that the lawmakers must disabuse their minds and refrain from preconceived notions against the Minister of Justice and AGF in the course ‎of their assignment.

Manuchimso urged the committee to approach the probe with sincerity of purpose even as he tasked it to conduct a thorough and painstaking investigation into the entire assets recovery and repatriation regime that had spanned about 20 years in order to have a good understanding of the issues involved.

According to him, “For any investigation or inquiry into the Abacha loot recovery to be meaningful, the principal actor, the Swiss lawyer, Mr Enricho Monfrini who began the process, must be invited to answer some probing questions otherwise the probe would be tantamount to a waste of time and a needless distraction

“We sincerely hope that the public hearing into the payment of professional fees to the Nigerian lawyers who travelled and worked assiduously to ensure that the last tranche of $322.5 million Abacha loot was repatriated would not be used as a contrived process to settle scores with the Minister of Justice and AGF‎.

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“As a matter of concern, our group has since found out that the Minister of Justice and the AGF was open and transparent in the recovery process, and nothing untoward has been done in the engagement of the Nigerian lawyers who have now gained more global exposure and built a good network of relationships in the arduous task of recovering our stolen assets

“Every year, the National Assembly gets between 2 and 5 percent of our yearly budget; many lawmakers who skip sittings get all their entitlements; it will be disingenuous and wicked to crucify Malami for appointing lawyers who diligently worked round the clock to bring into the country $322.5 million that the country had been finding difficult to repatriate since 2014

“We make bold to say that Malami deserves national accolades, while the lawyers deserve their wages just like their foreign counterparts.”