The $8.9 million was found to have been stolen by dishonest Nigerian authorities in 2014, and the Royal Court of Jersey has ordered its repatriation to Nigeria.
Part of a bigger amount, the funds were intended to be used for the purchase of weapons against the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, which has been conducting a bloody insurgency in Nigeria since 2009.
However, some Nigerian government officials and their cronies used fictitious contracts and invoices to disguise their tracks as they transferred the money to foreign bank accounts and shell businesses rather than using it for legal defence purposes.
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Jersey’s Attorney General, Mark Temple KC, revealed the money laundering scam when he issued a forfeiture notice in November 2020, stating that the money in a Jersey bank account were the proceeds of crime.
Temple’s claim was upheld by the Jersey court, which decided that the funds should be sent back to Nigeria so that the Nigerian people might use them for their benefit.
Temple emphasised the 2018 Forfeiture Law’s significance in combating corruption and reestablishing justice, as well as the cooperation between Jersey and Nigeria in the asset recovery process.
He said: “This case again demonstrates the effectiveness of the 2018 Forfeiture Law in recovering the proceeds of corruption and restoring that money to victims of crime. I now intend to negotiate an asset return agreement with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
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The case also highlights the pervasive incompetence and corruption that dogged Nigeria’s defence industry under the 2010–2015 administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
A number of senior officials, notably Sambo Dasuki, the former national security adviser, have been charged with embezzling billions of dollars intended for security operations and equipment.
In a well-known instance, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s private jet, which contained $10 million in cash and was purportedly meant to be used to purchase weapons, was intercepted in South Africa.
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