Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Abacha loot is a media creation, says Bamaiyi

By Oludare Richards, Abuja
31 March 2017   |   4:53 am
Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Ishaya Bamayi(rtd )has described Abacha loot as a media creation, insisting that former Head of State, General Sanni Abacha did not loot the nation’s treasury as many Nigerians have been made to believe.

Sani Abacha

Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Ishaya Bamayi(rtd )has described Abacha loot as a media creation, insisting that former Head of State, General Sanni Abacha did not loot the nation’s treasury as many Nigerians have been made to believe.

The former COAS said this at a book launch and public presentation of the personal account of his military career and momentous events including issues behind the move to secure the release of Chief M. K. O. Abiola, the workings of Abacha’s inner cabinet, failed coup incidents and details of the said loot.

Bamaiyi said while he agrees that former President Goodluck Jonathan had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to look into the matter, he argued that Jonathan was not an insider in the Abacha government like Buhari and that was why foreign countries would not listen to him on the release of the funds.

He noted that the late Abacha decided that the monies should be kept in places where they could be easily accessed.His words: “I am not defending Abacha. I am not saying things did not go wrong. What I know is that we sat down and agreed that the monies should be kept in a place so that we can have access to them. I don’t know if something else happened after that time.

“If you remember, we had problems in Sierra Leone and Liberia once and it was monies from the Abacha regime that we used to buy weapons and ammunition to help those countries fight.”

Bamaiyi said that Abacha did very well for the country, adding that if Nigerians see him from the bad aspect, they should also look at his good aspect and remember him for the good things he did for the country.

Former Head of state and the chairman of the occasion, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) in his remarks, commended Bamaiyi for the spirit and candour with which he rendered his experiences in the book.

In this article

7 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    This one has gone …

  • Author’s gravatar

    Wow when will the darkness people of Abacha regime agrees that those loots across the World was stolen by the wicked Man ? and his family are enjoying some of the loots in Nigeria today ?, why make a deal with his family to give them some percentage share recover, Nigerian Government should prove to the Citizen total amount collected from Abacha loots to keep those enemies of your Country quite alright, North will always defend there people, never do no wrong in looting Nigeria yeah….what a guy !!!!

  • Author’s gravatar

    It is very unfortunate that all these northerners have taken the rest of the country for a fool. If that was not Abacha loot, then what was that in a financial book? If it can be proven that Abacha did not loot the nation’s monies into his own special overseas accounts, that means the PDP government was just a 16 year joke.

  • Author’s gravatar

    he is definitely insane. The money that the Europeans and Americans are returning; is it money that were stashed in the account of the nation & people of Nigeria?. this is another very sick and shameless man who should have just kept silent on teh matter of the late Sani Abacha

  • Author’s gravatar

    This is serious amnesia or dementia!

  • Author’s gravatar

    Yes, they were kept in private accounts accounts for the use of the Nigerian public, the same way bank robbers keep the money for the bank and depositors, afterall pmb has said Abacha was not corrupt, and no money was stolen from PTF!!!!!