‘It’s shameful to lie against a dead man’ — Abacha’s wife speaks on loot

Maryam, the wife of deceased military head of state, Sani Abacha, says it is shameful to lie against her late husband concerning recovered loots linked to him.

In an interview to mark the 22nd anniversary of his death, Maryam told Kano Focus, that the truth about recovered monies linked to her husband will come to light in time.

The widow accused Kano elites of betraying her husband, who died in 1998, despite “his contributions to the development of the state and country”.

“How come this man was not a thief until he died?” she said.

“What is this amount of money after 22 years you say oh we have found this amount of money and we’re bringing it back?

“It is a shame to tell lies on a dead man! It is a shame to tell lies on your leader.

“If he had done wrong, God knows. If other people are putting the wrong on him, it is a matter of time.

“They will kneel down like America is kneeling down now. Anybody that is evil will kneel down just like this corona has come to shut this world.”

She described her late husband as a person who helped a lot of people.

“He worked in Kano and he planted Kano people, but there are people he helped a lot but they are not even greeting me now for no reason,” she continued.

“They just hate us. But why? It is Haram and Allah is watching us.”

Several monies linked to the former head of state have been recovered since 1998.

Hamza Al-Mustapha, who served as Abacha’s chief security officer, recently said the military general kept money overseas so that Nigerians will not suffer.

According to an analysis by TheCable, the Abacha Loot recovered from 1998 to 2020 amounts to $3.624 billion.

INFOGRAPHICS: Abacha loot recovered (1998 to 2020)

Advertisement

Total recovery: $3.624 billion #AbachaLoot #TheCableIndex pic.twitter.com/PYUkckjwrH

— TheCableIndex (@thecableindex) May 7, 2020

Advertisement

In May, Nigeria received $311 million stolen during the Abacha regime from the US and the Bailiwick of Jersey.

An estimate of $5 billion is said to have been stolen from Nigeria during Abacha’s five-year rule, even as new discoveries of funds stashed abroad are being made.

Buba Galadima, a former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, had said Abacha was advised to save enough money for Nigeria abroad.