Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian Army general and politician who served as the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.[1] Abacha's regime is controversial: although it saw dramatic economic growth, it also witnessed widespread human rights abuses.
Death
Abacha died in June 1998 while at the presidential villa in Abuja. He was buried on the same day, according to Muslim tradition, without an autopsy. This fueled speculation that he may have been executed extrajudicially by way of being poisoned by political rivals via prostitutes.[24] The government identified the cause of death as a sudden heart attack.[25] It is reported that he was in the company of two Indian prostitutes[26] imported from Dubai. It is thought that the prostitutes laced his drink with a poisonous substance, making Abacha feel unwell around 4:30am. He retired to his bed and was dead by 6:15am.[27]
Recovery of stolen funds
After Abacha's death, the Obasanjo government implicated Abacha and his family in a wholesale looting of Nigeria's coffers. The late dictator's son, Mohammed Abacha, continues to maintain that all the assets in question were legitimately acquired.[29][30] In 2002, Abacha's family purportedly agreed to return $1.2 billion that was taken from the central bank.[31]
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sani_Abacha
Switzerland to return Sani Abacha 'loot' money to Nigeria
Switzerland is to give Nigeria $380m (£260m) that was allegedly looted by the former military dictator Sani Abacha and stored in European bank accounts, officials announced on Tuesday.
The transfer will be carried out under the supervision of the World Bank, ending 16 years of court wrangling.
Abacha, who ruled Nigeria for five years after a 1993 coup, is believed to have stolen $4.3bn while in office, placing him among the ranks of Congo’s Mobutu Sese Seko as one of Africa’s most avaricious kleptocrats.
Following his death from a sudden heart attack in 1998, the Nigerian government asked Switzerland to help it recover $2.2bn that he was said to have stashed in European bank accounts. The tax haven was forced to relax banking secrecy regulations after some landmark rulings.
The $380m had been placed in several accounts abroad that were controlled by the Abacha family, which is considered a criminal organisation, the prosecutor’s office in the Swiss capital, Geneva, said on Tuesday. It was seized in 2006 in Luxembourg following a request from Swiss authorities.
The decision to return it to Nigeria follows a deal struck last July between the west Africa country’s government and the Abacha family. Under the agreement, the funds will be confiscated and sent back to Nigeria, while the government will drop its case against the deceased dictator’s son Abba Abacha.
The greed of Abacha appalled even Nigerians used to plundering on a grand scale. After his death aged 54, his wife Maryam was caught trying to flee the country with 38 suitcases stuffed with cash. The $5m Peace Foundation set up by the family to sell “Abacha-themed” televisions, sandals, rice and soap later collapsed.
//www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/18/switzerland-to-return-sani-abacha-loot-money-to-nigeria
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