Abacha's loot in Ghana

...Nigeria yet to make case for recovery

The last may not have been heard yet, about the saga of the late General Sani Abacha?s loot allegedly stashed away through prot?g?s, in banks across the world.

A recent revelation on the loot recovery from the late Nigerian military ruler came close to home, in neighbouring Ghana.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust last Saturday in Abuja, the Speaker of the Ghanaian parliament, Mr. Peter Ala Adjettey, revealed that President John Kuffour and most members of the Ghanaian parliament are aware that money changed hands in questionable circumstances between their immediate past President, Jerry Rawlings, and the late Nigerian Head of State, General Sani Abacha.

According to Barrister Adjetey, who was speaking to Daily Trust at the Eighth Biennial Conference of the African Bar Association at the Sheraton Hotels in Abuja, said only the Nigerian Government can instigate action on the alleged loot which is being kept with ex-president, Jerry Rawlings: "It?s only then that we can intervene at the parliament and debate the issue before making any recommendations to President Kuffour," he said.

Honourable Adjettey, who was the former Chairman of the current ruling party in Ghana, New Patriotic Party (NPP), indicated that the issue of corrupt acquisition of monies through fraudulent sources could have automatically become a probable offence for the new government against President Rawlings? government, if any member of his party were aware of such anomalies in the long campaigns of his party, before the election. He noted that, "because we only just got to know of this allegation of fraud between late General Sani Abacha and ex-president, Jerry Rawlings, it was impossible to raise the issue at the parliament without arousing suspicion of witch-hunting from the opposition parties."

He added that "only Nigerian government can force the issue into our national agenda for discussion."

The Ghanaian Speaker of Parliament who is also the president of the Pan African Lawyers Union, as well as an ex-president of the Ghana Bar Association regretted that African leaders have made laughing stocks of the age-old morality of our forefathers, in the eyes of the world, and advised that leaders should stick to their earnings only, and shun corruption.