By EMMANUEL OGEBE Esq

Last week, I read with consternation that the Supreme Court had tossed out the criminal case against General Abacha’s dreaded enforcer Major Al Mustapha due to failure of prosecution by the Lagos State government.

While this was disturbing enough that there was no accountability for the chief architect of arguably the most horrific era of human rights abuses in our history, what followed was even more confounding – Major Mustapha reportedly said, it was “a harrowing, unforgettable and traumatic journey…

When I, along with others, was arrested and arraigned on trumped-up charges orchestrated by those who decided not only to blackmail me, but also to get rid of me for reasons best known to them.

I have to put all that happened behind me, gear up and get ready to move on with my life without grudges.

“The Supreme Court verdict has vindicated me and proved my innocence; so what more do I ask Almighty Allah for than the heart to forgive all those who masterminded my almost three-decade ordeal. As a Muslim, I have forgiven them all.”

He said he was ready to return to public life in a constructive way. “I thank you so much for living up to expectations as the last hope of the common and defenceless man.”

He also thanked Nigerians who supported him during the trial, as well as members of his family who, he said, suffered harassment. “I am grateful to my parents, who suffered from wanton harassment by forces bent on seeing my end. My wife and children, who also suffered deliberate harassment, deserve commendation for standing firm, even in the face of all threats,” he said.

He acknowledged the experiences of his siblings, legal team and associates, noting that his counsel faced “physical attacks, illegal break-ins and burglary of their chambers,” while friends endured “illegal searches and abuses.”

Nigeria is indeed a fantastical theater of the absurd featuring an ignominious comedy of terrors. That the most notorious major in Nigeria’s history would now claim victimhood, innocence and vindication is truly a brutish assault on our sensibilities and national psyche.

As a former prisoner of Major Mustapha and the only prodemocracy activist ever tortured in the Aso presidential villa and live to tell it, I am compelled to speak out:

Dear Major Mustapha,

Initially I was ambivalent about the dismissal of Lagos state’s appeal in your murder trial beside the injustice to the victim Mrs Kudirat Abiola.

However your unfortunate remarks thereafter feigning persecution by dark forces and claiming vindication amounts to dancing on the graves of the victim while spitting in the face of Nigerians.

Some time ago, you similarly claimed falsely that Abacha did not loot funds but merely invested them abroad for Nigeria. At the time I was tempted to respond but didn’t. However on this latest statement regarding the assassination of Kudirat Abiola, since you abducted and tortured me in the villa for simply requesting a judicial investigation into her killing, I’m constrained to speak out because of my unique perspective for the sake of posterity.

First let me address the falsehood about the Abacha loot. There is no doubt that it was brazen theft of state funds. Right now €200 million of the Abacha loot is under money laundering forfeiture proceedings in U.S. federal district court in Washington which Malami as Attorney General and former personal counsel to the Abachas refused to reclaim for the Federal Government. Can you explain why FGN won’t reclaim its investment abroad if it was legitimately invested in its name?

Secondly the brother of the current Budget Minister Bagudu who laundered the money for Abacha has sued the U.S. government claiming the money as his. How could it be FGN’s investment If a private Individual who is already living on the interest of the funds has blocked release of the €200million to Nigeria and his brother as Budget Minister supports his effort to take away “Nigeria’s foreign investment”?

Thirdly, Premium Times just reported, about a recent national honors recipient, “Mr Chagoury was among the individuals who facilitated the systematic looting of state resources under the late General Sani Abacha between 1993 and 1998, according to American Investigators.

He accrued an infamous track record for decades.

He was convicted in 2000 of money laundering and aiding a criminal organisation.

In the 1990s, he set up accounts with SG Ruegg Bank in Geneva for the Abacha family, enabling them to benefit from illegal transfers of over $120 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria and secured immunity from prosecution, court documents showed.

He later paid $600,000 In fines to the court in Geneva, Switzerland, and refunded $66 million to the Nigerian government.” https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/850649-updated-tinubu-gives-nigerias-second-highest-honour-to-controversial-businessman-gilbert-chagoury.html?fbclid=IwRlRTSAPm8RdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEezLRZsV1cjEKz8XWpvQsGHoJcxTQ3acdIpTeyLKV7SwOt852fsmVT82_GXig_aem_I3Hd1pC7o85q95QZRoSzFQHow could it be a legitimate Nigerian “government investment” if those involved in it have been convicted in multiple jurisdictions and forced to refund money to Nigeria? Can your money be refunded to you if it was not stolen from you?

As has been properly documented in the U.S. Court in DC, this was a massive criminal theft on industrial scale.

In the ongoing money laundering forfeiture proceedings in Washington, the US District Judge said, “The government alleges that the funds in defendant ’nvestment portfolios are traceable to two illegal schemes. The first scheme is referred to as the “Security Votes Fraud,” which began when, between January 1994 and June 1998, General Abacha, National Security Advisor Gwarzo, and others “stole more than $2 billion from Nigeria by fraudulently and falsely representing that the funds were to be used for national security purposes.” Id. ¶ 25. The theft of funds was allegedly committed by General Abacha and Gwarzo when they “executed false national security letters [referred to as “security votes letters”] directing the withdrawal of funds from the [Central Bank of Nigeria].” Id. Gwarzo, “at General Abacha’s direction,” prepared these security votes letters and addressed them to General Abacha “purporting to request millions of U.S. dollars, British pounds sterling, and Nigerian naira to address unidentified ‘emergencies’ that threatened Nigeria’s national interests.” Id. ¶ 26. General Abacha “endorsed each letter with his signature” to approve the disbursements. Id. Over sixty such endorsed security votes letters were sent to the Central Bank of Nigeria in Abuja, Nigeria, where the bank disbursed the funds as requested in each letter, “in cash or traveler’s checks, or through wire transfers.” Id. ¶¶ 26, 28. Instead of using the funds for national security purposes, “the stolen money was transported out of Nigeria and deposited into accounts controlled by General Abacha’s associates, including [his son] Mohammed Abacha and Bagudu.” Id. ¶ 25.

Id. The security votes letters at issue were not properly approved “and were also not included in Nigeria’s budget for the relevant fiscal years.” Id. After General Abacha’s death, Nigeria established a Special Investigation Panel, “which found that General Abacha and his co- conspirators had used the false security votes letters to steal and defraud more than $2 billion in public funds, including: (1) at least $1.1 billion and £413 million pounds sterling (GBP) in cash; (2) at least $50,456,450 and £3,500,000 GBP in traveler’s checks; and (3) at least $386,290,169 through wire transfers.” Id. ¶ 29.

After the funds were disbursed from the Central Bank of Nigeria, bank staff and “other individuals known and unknown to the United States” would deliver the funds to National Security Advisor Gwarzo at his residence. Id. ¶ 31. “Gwarzo and others acting at his direction would [then] repackage the currency in secure bags and…deliver it to General Abacha at his residence.” Id. “General Abacha, or those acting at his direction, [then] delivered more than $700 million of these funds to [General Abacha’s son] Mohammed Abacha in bags or boxes full of cash.” Id. ¶ 32. Mohammed Abacha, in turn, gave that cash to Bagudu, who “arranged for the money to be transferred to accounts controlled by Bagudu and Mohammed Abacha in foreign countries.” Id. ¶ 33. “In order to move the money overseas,” Bagudu deposited the money, which he referred to as his “‘cash swaps,’” in two local Nigerian banks, and then he “and/or Mohammed Abacha” instructed those banks to transfer the funds to accounts overseas owned by Mohammed Abacha and Bagudu. Id. ¶ 34. “Transfers included deposits into accounts in the Name of [defendant corporations]” under the control of Bagudu and Mohammed Abacha. Id. ¶¶ 33–34.“ https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2013cv01832/163245/79/0.pdf?ts=1426843689

On May 26, 1999, General Abubakar promulgated Decree 53 of 1999 on forfeiture of assets by certain persons which listed the monies returned by the Abacha’s family.

Abacha’s larceny commenced less than two weeks after he took power from Chief Ernest Shonekan.

- In a memo reference NSA/A/320/S/46 dated 30th November 1993, the then National Security Adviser, Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo, requested for $100 million to combat “an economy that was deflected and distorted through the black market.” In the same memo, Gwarzo also undertook to pay back the naira equivalent into government coffers. Having apparently been briefed by Abacha, the then Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Dr Paul Ogwuma released the money in the following sums: $95 Million and 3.2 million Pounds Sterling, all in cash.

So primitive was the whole arrangement that the principal job of some security officials was to be bagging and re-bagging millions of Dollars and Pound Sterling. The following are a few of the documented transactions:

-On February 13 and 15, 1995 Gwarzo collected US$200,000 and US$600,000 respectively (totaling $800,000) from the CBN.

-On 29th December 1995, Gwarzo collected from the CBN the sum of US $5 million based on Abacha’s approval of his letter to deal with “situation at hand”!

-On 23rd August, 1996, Gwarzo collected US $30 million from the CBN following Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 20th August 1996, requesting for the said money to “assist our immediate neighbours and others within this sub-region”.

-On 18th December, 1996, Gwarzo collected US $ 66.5 million and GB £20 million following Abacha’s approval of his letter to meet “some requests from Heads of State of some Francophone countries, and to cultivate African solidarity.”

-A month later on 30th September, 1996, Gwarzo collected US $50 million and GB £20 million from the CBN sequel to his letter dated 24th September 1996, requesting for the money to “prop some African and other Third World countries” to assist in Nigeria’s “democratization and economic recovery”.

-On 28th April, 1997, Gwarzo collected US $60 million GB £30 million sequel to Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 22nd April 1997, in which he requested for the said sums for “public relations to international communities and organizations”.

-On 9th July, 1997, Gwarzo collected US $ 5 million from the CBN following Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 23rd May, 1997 to meet all “demands and commitments as directed”.

-A month later on 8th December, 1997, Gwarzo collected US $120 million and GB £50 million sequel to Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 26th November 1997.

-And on 19th January, 1998, Gwarzo collected from the CBN the sums of US $100 million and GB£ 50 million to “counter insinuations that (Lt. General Oladipo) Diya’s coup was not real, and the government framed them to remove and replace the coupists with stooges.”

The Interesting thing about this particular transaction was that while re-bagging the money, “four cartons containing a total of about US$ 8 million were set aside” in Gwarzo’s own residence, while the balance of US $57 million and GB£ 30 million were delivered to the late Head of State through Mohammed Abacha.

-On 25th October, 1997, Gwarzo collected US$ 80 million and GB £40 million “to sponsor military intervention in Sierra Leone, and garner support for same in the West African Sub-region.”

-On 30th April, 1998, a few weeks before Abacha died, Gwarzo collected US $ 80 million, GB £50 million and N250 million based on his letter dated 29th April 1998 for the conduct of an enlightenment campaign on the “virtues” of an “Abacha Presidency”.

-On 5th July, 1996, Gwarzo collected from the CBN the sum of US $8.1 million and GB £ 5.2 million based on his request dated 14th June 1996, to support five presidential aspirants in the Niger Republic general elections.

-On 21st February, 1997, Gwarzo collected from the CBN the sums of US $60 million and £20 million for “pro-Nigeria propangada” abroad.

-On 1st April, 1998, Gwarzo collected from the CBN the sums of US $65 million and GB £30 million for “Public Relations at home and abroad, to counter the European Union campaign against the transition programme.”

-On the 8th of May, 1996 Gwarzo collected US $3 million and US $9 million respectively from the CBN. Out of this sum, he reportedly sent US $ 7 million (on behalf of Abacha) to then President Matthew Kerekou of Benin Republic as “assistance to the country to pay outstanding workers’ salary” while US $2 million was for Kerekou himself.

-On 13th November, 1996, Gwarzo collected US $5 million and GB £3 million from the CBN based on his letter dated 7th November, 1996 “to take care of foreign dignitaries who will attend the burial ceremonies of the first President of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.”

-On 10th September, 1997, Gwarzo collected US$ 60 million and GB£ 30million from the CBN “to finance a campaign for a seat on the Security Council of the United Nations Organisation.”

-On 9th December, 1996, Gwarzo collected US $5 million from the CBN sequel to Abacha’s approval of his letter dated 21st November, 1996 in which he requested the said sum “to finance the purchase of ten Toyota Land Cruisers, and ten Peugeot 505 saloons for the Republic of Mali”.

Clearly from the damning details in the public domain above, there’s absolutely no truth to your claim that this was “foreign savings” for Nigeria.

However you yourself know the truth because of your own personal experience which I am aware of and now revealing.

The “national security” looting scam was so rampant and easy that a friend of yours forged a national security memo authorizing release of funds by the CBN.

He then took one of your dreaded “BGs” also known as “Strike Force” (your specially trained kill squad who served as bodyguards amongst others) to escort him to the Central Bank.

While there, the forged memo was presented and the villa ID card of the BG was photocopied by CBN staffers to confirm that they were indeed from the Villa. Thereafter the sum of 700million naira was released to your friend by the CBN.

Eventually this scam was exposed and you Major Mustapha was roped in because of the ID of your BG which had been photocopied and the fact that the scammer was your friend.

You were reportedly investigated and interrogated by the Inspector General of police for involvement in the scam. However, the BG testified that you were not involved and that it was your friend who asked him to accompany him to the CBN and even he the BG was innocently unaware of the mission.

A friend of my church member who innocently typed the memo was arrested and interrogated as well. Based on my knowledge of this matter, she, the BG and yourself were all innocent victims of this fraudster.

Nevertheless, given your personal experience, it’s impossible for a man of your intelligence to claim that you were unaware of the other ongoing massive looting or claim it was foreign savings.

Please do not insult our intelligence and abuse our forbearance with your ignominious history. There are families that lost loved ones who, under your regime, never had a fair trial, a right of appeal or anything close to what Nigeria afforded you. Even Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni nine were executed on the same day of their kangaroo judgment without appeal.

You’re now a beneficiary of a failed legal system that favours the rich and powerful and it is bizarre for you, who generals wept and groveled before you to spare their lives, to claim the judiciary saved you as a “common man”. Common men are people like Sunday Jackson who defended himself when attacked but was unjustly sentenced to death by hanging. Like you, Jackson spent over a decade in prison but unlike you he did not deserve it and was thankfully pardoned and not freed because of prosecutorial indolence.

I won’t share what I know about Kudirat’s assassination as you already know the truth – for now – if you amend your ways. Please make peace with God and the Abiola family as well as many others whom your reign of terror traumatized.

As I have stated previously, I don’t hold a grudge against you because what the enemy meant for evil God turned around for good. But you’re well advised to “go and sin no more.”

“I am not surprised that he refused to accept his responsibility. It takes more than a spirit of a man for you to accept such a responsibility.” This is the statement of Sgt Rogers (aka Mshelia Jabila) when he testified publicly that you sent him on three assassination missions for the Strike Force including the killing of Kudirat Abiola. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AtYVTCvcx/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Incidentally the same pastor who ministered to me in prison when you held me captive for requesting an investigation ministered to Sgt Rogers when he was himself imprisoned for the assassination of Kudirat.

•Ogebe is a Washington-based International Human Rights Lawyer.