Law, Policy & The Economy

FGN to Receive $53m Diezani Loot From US

Emmanuel Eze

January 10, 2025

The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to receive the sum of 53 million in stolen funds from the US as part of the terms of the MoU signed for the repatriation of funds looted by Diezani Alison-Madueke., former Minister of Petroleum.

Diezani Alison-Madueke Loot

Diezani Alison-Madueke, who served as Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources between 2010 and 2015 has been accused of diverting public funds, including proceeds from oil sales, into personal accounts and those of her associates. The sums allegedly looted are estimated to be in the billions of dollars.

As a result Nigeria,US and UK authorities have seized properties including Real estate in Nigeria, London, and the United States worth millions of dollars, Luxury cars, private jets, and yachts and High-value jewelry collections from the former Minister.

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Terms of Repatriation MoU

Speaking during the signing of the MoU, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) said the agreement provides that $50 million of the funds, which is about N77 billion, will be used to fund rural electrification projects to increase the reliability and availability of renewable energy in Nigeria.

The minister added that the balance of $2.88 million will be disbursed as a grant by Nigeria to the International Institute for Justice (IIJ) to support “the Rule of Law and Counter-Terrorism Project,” through counter-terrorism capacity building for criminal justice sector practitioners in East, West, and North Africa.

While commending the United States for their cooperation towards the recovery, he assured that measures have been put in place to ensure transparency in the utilisation of the funds.

“I would like to express our gratitude to the United States Government, for their steadfast support and cooperation in this endeavour,” Fagbemi said.

“Your commitment to justice and the rule of law has been instrumental in making this agreement a reality.

“However, I implore you to continue to demonstrate the usual cooperation and understanding in other pending cases of repatriation, so that the Agreements in relation thereto can be concluded as soon as possible, as Nigeria is in dire need of these refunds.”

In his response, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills expressed the government’s trust in the Nigerian government’s determination to apply the funds transparently, adding that, without it, they would not have signed the repatriation agreement.