Abacha loot plea bargain 100m equals 20 states budgets

A very interesting and timely topic!

For those who may not be aware, the "Abacha loot" refers to the massive amount of money stolen by former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his associates between 1993 and 1998. The loot is estimated to be around $5 billion, which is approximately N1.8 trillion.

In 2017, the Nigerian government reached a plea bargain agreement with the United States government to recover some of the looted funds. As part of the agreement, the Nigerian government agreed to return $100 million to the United States, which is a fraction of the total amount looted.

Now, let's do some math to put this into perspective. The $100 million returned to the United States is equivalent to approximately N36 billion, using the current exchange rate.

In Nigeria, the 20 states with the lowest internally generated revenue (IGR) in 2020 were:

  1. Bayelsa - N1.4 billion
  2. Ekiti - N1.5 billion
  3. Ebonyi - N1.6 billion
  4. Cross River - N1.7 billion
  5. Taraba - N1.8 billion
  6. Adamawa - N2.1 billion
  7. Gombe - N2.2 billion
  8. Jigawa - N2.3 billion
  9. Kebbi - N2.4 billion
  10. Kogi - N2.5 billion
  11. Nasarawa - N2.6 billion
  12. Niger - N2.7 billion
  13. Ogun - N2.8 billion
  14. Ondo - N2.9 billion
  15. Osun - N3.1 billion
  16. Plateau - N3.2 billion
  17. Sokoto - N3.3 billion
  18. Zamfara - N3.4 billion
  19. Katsina - N3.5 billion
  20. Yobe - N3.6 billion

As you can see, the $100 million (N36 billion) returned to the United States is equivalent to the combined IGR of 20 states in Nigeria. This highlights the massive scale of the looting and the need for the Nigerian government to prioritize the recovery of stolen funds to address the country's development challenges.

It's also worth noting that the plea bargain agreement with the United States is just one of several efforts by the Nigerian government to recover looted funds. The government has also recovered some funds from other sources, including the Swiss government and the United Kingdom. However, much more needs to be done to recover the majority of the looted funds and ensure that they are used for the benefit of the Nigerian people.