Nigeria and the Bailiwick of jersey have agreed to repatriate more than $9.5 million traced to proceeds of corruption to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The agreement is contained in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in December 2025 by His Majesty’s Attorney General for Jersey, Mark Temple KC, authorising the return of the funds to Nigeria for use on key infrastructure projects.
The funds were forfeited following an application by the Jersey Attorney General to the Royal Court of Jersey on November 29, 2023, under the Forfeiture of Assets (Civil Proceedings) (Jersey) Law 2018.
On January 12, 2024, the court ordered the forfeiture after determining that the funds were “more likely than not the proceeds of a corrupt scheme” in which Nigerian government funds were diverted by contractors for the benefit of senior public officials and their associates.
The MoU builds on earlier agreements between Nigeria and Jersey that led to the repatriation of over $300 million. Those funds were deployed to major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, the Second Niger Bridge and the Abuja–Kano Road.
While the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge have been completed, the newly repatriated funds will be applied to the final stages of the 375-kilometre Abuja–Kano Road, a critical transport corridor linking the federal capital to northern Nigeria.
Commenting on the development, Jersey’s Attorney General, Mark Temple KC, said: “This successful return demonstrates the strength of our civil forfeiture legislation as a powerful tool in the fight against corruption. I thank the Nigerian authorities for their cooperation and the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit in my Department for their unwavering commitment to recover the proceeds of crime.”
Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said the recovery underscored the importance of international collaboration in combating corruption.
According to him, “The successful recovery and repatriation of the forfeited assets ensures that there is no safe haven for illicitly acquired wealth or assets moved to foreign jurisdictions.”
Fagbemi thanked the government of Jersey for its cooperation and assured that the funds would be properly utilised.
“I want to, on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, thank the Bailiwick of Jersey for the cooperation accorded Nigeria during the recovery exercise.
“The repatriated assets will be judiciously utilised in line with the terms of the executed Memorandum of Understanding,” he added.
