U.S. takes control of $480m stolen by Abacha

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has taken control of more than $480 million looted by former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his associates after a court ruling, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

The money stolen during Abacha’s 1993-1998 de facto presidency of the oil-rich African nation and stashed in banks around the world will be returned to the Nigerian government, the department said in a statement.

“Rather than serve his county, General Abacha used his public office in Nigeria to loot millions of dollars, engaging in brazen acts of kleptocracy,” Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said in the statement.

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington ordered on Wednesday that the funds, frozen by the Justice Department in March, be forfeited to U.S. control.

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Voting Still On In Osun

Voting started at noon today throughout the State of Osun. That was after accreditation which began in the morning, around 8 a.m. Governor Rauf Aregbesola cast his vote at Ward A Unit 1, Ilesha (see pix), this afternoon, even as other electorate trooped out in large numbers in all the towns and villages innthe state As contained in the 18-page book of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, 1, 407, 222 voters were registered for the poll holding in 3,379 Voting Points. Moreover, there are 332 registration areas (RAs), 3,010 units, 1,407,222 registered voters and 3,379 at 1, 407 voting points. Male voters are 661, 395 (47 per cent) while their female counterparts are 745, 828 (53 per cent).