France declared that it would give Nigeria back $150 million of General Sani Abacha’s stolen wealth.
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Abacha ruled Nigeria from 1993 to 1998, when he tragically passed away.
Twenty years after his rule, the Nigerian government had already retrieved hundreds of millions of dollars in plunder that had been hidden overseas.
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During a news conference on Friday, Ms. Catherine Colonna, the visiting French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, stated that she had notified President Bola Tinubu about the anticipated restitution of the embezzled funds.
She announced that talks with the Nigerian government over potential investment areas for the fund will soon begin, but that the pilfered money will be brought back to the nation in the form of a grant.
“I also informed President Tinubu that, in compliance with the US Administration’s agreement and in response to the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice’s request, France will return to Nigeria the assets that General Sani Abacha and his family stole from the Nigerian people and that have been frozen in France since 2021,” the statement stated. To deploy these 150 million US dollars to population-benefiting development initiatives in line with the Nigerian government’s aims, we will begin talks with the country’s government.
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France has invested more than €10 billion, she claimed.
She claims: “There are already over 100 French enterprises operating here. Instead of just selling French goods, they invest in Nigeria’s economy by building factories, farms, and centers for vocational training in addition to providing jobs—10,000 of them right now. In the upcoming years, we hope to boost not only these investments in Nigeria but also those made by Nigerian businesses in France.
Through funding from the French Development Agency (Agence française de dévelopement, AFD), the French government also makes direct investments in Nigeria.
We have raised about three billion euros since 2010 to aid in Nigeria’s development. Of Nigeria’s 36 states, 26 have projects that AFD is currently working on. In addition to funding several SMEs and regional start-up incubators, we are also funding infrastructure, including rural roads, marketplaces, urban transportation, and water supplies. Additionally, we are spending an increasing amount of money on young vocational training.
“Supporting Nigeria’s culture and creative sectors even more is our top goal for the upcoming years. They have enormous development potential and are currently well-known throughout the world. In order to help artists and business owners in the animation, video game, music, fashion, and design industries reach a global audience, we provide support.
“This morning, I inked a 100 million euro investment deal with the Minister of Finance for the l-Dice initiative, which will enable AFD to assist Nigerian business owners in the digital and creative sectors. Along with our exceptional cultural network in Nigeria, which includes the French Institute in Abuja and ten Alliances Francaises, we offer finance expertise as well as exposure in France.