The Attorney General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mohammed Bello Adoke has said that the charges against son of former Head of State, Mohammed Abacha were dropped in the interest of the Nation and not to protect him from prosecution.
Speaking in a press release signed by his media aide, Ambrose Momoh, Adoke clarified that former President Olusegun Obasanjo entered into a Global Settlement Agreement with the Abacha family.
He said: “This principal objective has been achieved to a very significant degree in the Abacha proceedings. While the yearning for criminal sanctions in form of custodial sentences against the Abacha family is understandable, it should be appreciated that this is a case that has lingered for over 16 years.
“It is, therefore, important to understand that this is not a straightforward case where conviction is assured.
“The standard of proof in criminal cases of this nature, which is ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt,’ poses great difficulty for the prosecution as any shadow of doubt is resolved in favour of the accused person.”
He added, “This much was appreciated by the administration of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, when it entered into a Global Settlement Agreement with the Abacha family.
“What the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has done is to ensure that government gets the best deal it can in the circumstance. To this end, this administration has consulted widely.
“The Ministry of Justice, therefore, wishes to assure the public that it will at all times be guided by national interest, the need to promote transparency, accountability and international best practices in the Ministry’s dealings with the Abacha family and indeed, all such recovery proceedings.”
Adoke implied that the Federal Government entered into the agreement in order to make it easier to recover most of the stolen assets due to increased cooperation from Mohammed Abacha and the banks in possession of the loot.
He said the recovery proceedings made it possible for the Abacha family and its associates to forfeit over $550 million and £95,910 million in 10 accounts and six investment portfolios linked to the Abachas in France, Britain, British Virgin Islands and the United States.
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