The French Republic, disclosed that the sum of $150 million looted by former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, will be repatriated to the country.
Catherine Colonna, the French Republic’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, made the assurance during a visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Colonna stated during her visit to Nigeria on Friday evening that France will return to Nigeria the assets stolen from Nigerians by Abacha and his family and frozen in France since 2021.
Colonna said: “I had the great honour of being received by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, HE Bola Tinubu. Our discussion focused on the state of our bilateral partnership, as well as major regional and global crises. I thanked him for taking part in the Summit on a New Global Financing Pact, that we hosted in Paris in June, 2023, More broadly, I acknowledged the irreplaceable role of Nigeria in global governance.
“I also informed President Tinubu that in response to the request submitted by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice, and in agreement with the US Administration, France will return to Nigeria, the assets stolen from the Nigerian people by General Sani Abacha and his family that have been frozen in France since 2021. We will start discussions with the Nigerian administration in order to allocate these 150 million US dollars to development projects benefiting the population, according to the priorities of the Nigerian government.”
Asked why France was repatriating the money in form of grants, Colonna said the decision was not depended on the French Government.
“France does not have a say in the matter of how this one hundred and fifty million dollars will be spent. It is part of the agreement that was reached between Nigeria and the family of former President Abacha,” Colonna disclosed.
She however said what was interesting was that the money would go to the Nigerian population through grants that will be picked and identified together between the French Government and the Nigerian Government.
Earlier, Colonna said she met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and reaffirmed the will to strengthen partnership in terms of economy, trade, culture, development and humanitarian issues.
“We also talked at length about the challenges facing West Africa at the moment: the growing threat of terrorism, the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, as well at the proliferation of coups d’Etat. I reaffirmed our clear and strong support to ECOWAS’ efforts to protect both security and democracy in the region. I also welcomed Nigeria’s leadership in the response to global challenges,” Colonna also said.
Colonna further said the main priority between France and Nigeria for the coming years is to support even further cultural and creative industries in Nigeria.
“They are already recognized worldwide, and have a huge potential to be developed. We support creators and entrepreneurs in the fields of animation, video games, music, fashion and design, to help them tap into international markets.
“I signed this morning, with the Minister of Finance, an investment agreement for an amount of 100 million euros, for the I-Dice program, through which AFD is going to support Nigerian entrepreneurs in digital and creative industries. We provide financing, expertise, but also exposure in France and in our outstanding cultural network in Nigeria, including the French Institute in Abuja and 10 Alliances Francaises.
“Nigeria is also a major regional and global power, with an essential role to play in meeting key global challenges: climate change, the reform of global governance, peace and security issues. On all these issues, we want to enhance dialogue and coordination between our two countries,” Colonna further said.