Former Chief Security Officer Hamza Al-Mustapha, who served under the late military leader General Sani Abacha, has denied claims that his former boss embezzled Nigerian funds and concealed them abroad.
He claimed in a BBC interview that the funds in question were utilized to help Nigerians through difficult economic times.
He maintained that the funds, which were put aside to help Nigeria’s economic strategy, were not stolen.
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He claims that “the government was operating under a lot of hardship at that time.” There was no cash. We therefore traveled to Libya with a few others to find out how they were managing to survive. There had been sanctions on Libya for eleven years.
After examining Libya’s system, he clarified, the Abacha administration implemented a policy that permitted Nigerian-owned businesses to obtain government assistance for the purchase of commodities and their subsequent sale to Nigerians at reasonable prices.
By God’s favor, Nigerians were spared the destruction of these goods, which we replicated. But other people refused to return the money after Abacha’s death. They spread a lot of untrue rumors about him instead.
The money that was allegedly returned to Nigeria wasn’t in Abacha’s name, in my opinion. This economic strategy was supported by the funds being held in national accounts. Others hid it, while others gave it back,” he claimed.
In order to further probe the claims, he asked, “Did Abacha ever travel abroad? Were his signature and the monies discovered? Or was he caught transferring money by anyone? NO.
Regarding Nigeria’s democracy, Al-Mustapha admitted that political advancements had been made, but he said that the lives of regular Nigerians had not improved.
Democracies are good, but when they are used to harm people, that’s a tremendous problem, he said.
