6 hours ago
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The widow of a former military head of state, Sani Abacha, Maryam, has berated Nigerians for believing that subsequent administrations recovered monies stashed by her husband abroad.
Naija News recalls that the federal government had announced the recovery of tranches of money reportedly stashed by Abacha in foreign banks.
As of 2020, over $3.624 billion of the Abacha loot had been recovered. Similarly in May 2022, the United Kingdom said it recovered $23 million taken out of Nigeria illegally by Abacha’s associates and family.
About three months later, the United States returned another $20 million to Nigeria as part of the loot traced to Abacha.
In 2023, France returned $150 million of Abacha’s loot to Nigeria.
However, in an interview with TVC, Maryam demanded proof that her husband stashed looted funds abroad.
She stated that Nigerians are believing the stashed looted fund recovery because they are fools, stressing that her late husband saved money for Nigeria that was looted after he died.
Maryam emphasised that the constant finger-pointing at her husband reflects a deeper societal issue and urged the media to focus on its core mandate.
She said, “Who is the witness of the monies that were being stashed?
“Did you see the signature or the evidence of any monies stashed abroad? And the monies that my husband kept for Nigeria, in a few months, the monies vanished. People are not talking about that.
“Why are you blaming somebody? Is that tribalism or a religious problem or what is the problem with Nigerians?
“I pray for Nigerians. I pray for all of us. I pray that we should have goodness in our hearts. We should stop telling lies and blaming people.
“Why are we so bad towards each other? Because somebody is a northerner or a southerner, somebody is a Muslim or a Christian, or somebody is nice or… It’s not fair.
“I think the press should try, the press, you, the press, should try to educate the people. You are here to educate the people, to inform the people and to entertain. You are here to help the country. You are not here to bastardise people. People are not that bad. 27 years ago and you are still talking about Abacha. He must be very powerful and loved by Nigerians. We thank God for that.
“So, where did he steal the money from? So where would he have stolen the money from? And because Nigerians are fools, they listen to everything.
“Babangida doesn’t make Nigeria alone. Abacha does not make Nigeria alone. Abiola and everybody, nobody is big enough for Nigeria. We are all very important.
“Even the single man on the street is very important. We are all human beings, for goodness sake. All these wahala should stop. Babangida cannot make things or unmake things.”
English (US) ·