Fifty five top government officials and private businessmen illicitly diverted roughly $7.5m (equivalent of N1.35trn at that time) to themselves between 2006 and 2013 at the expense of ordinary Nigerians, according to a Daily Trust report quoting the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay.

The report, published online this night, said that Prof. Sagay, citing a study, made the disclosure at the State House in Abuja Monday at conference on Promoting International Co-operation in Combating Illicit Financial Flows and Enhancing Asset Recovery to Foster Sustainable Development.

The PACAC Chairman said what was not revealed “turned out to be far more mind boggling, including trillions squandered in fuel subsidy scam, billion arms purchase scam, hundreds of millions of dollars taken from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation by the former minister to bribe election officials in 2015, the list goes on.”

Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan – in that order – were the presidents within the period Prof. Sagay referred to.