Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on policy communication, says there is no evidence that Abubakar Bagudu, Nigeria’s minister of budget and economic planning, has misappropriated public funds.
Bwala made the remark during an appearance on Head to Head, a programme on Al Jazeera hosted by Mehdi Hasan, which examined the Tinubu administration’s record on issues including corruption, insecurity, and political appointments.
During the interview, Hasan questioned Tinubu’s anti-corruption credentials, citing Bagudu’s appointment and allegations by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) that he was involved in the embezzlement and laundering of billions of dollars during the 1990s under the regime of the late Sani Abacha, Nigeria’s former military head of state.
In 2020, the DOJ said Bagudu was part of a network controlled by Abacha that “embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria.”
In 1999, the Nigerian government engaged Enrico Monfrini, a Swiss lawyer, to initiate legal proceedings to recover assets linked to Abacha, his family and associates in Switzerland, France, Jersey, the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions.
At the time, the assets of Bagudu — an associate of the Abacha family — were frozen alongside those traced to the Abachas.
Responding to the issue, Bwala argued that Bagudu’s role in the current administration is not tainted by any proven wrongdoing under Nigerian law.
The presidential aide added that actions taken by US authorities are separate from Nigeria’s judicial processes and do not constitute evidence of misconduct within the country’s legal framework.
“There is no evidence that Bagudu has misappropriated funds. The decision of a court in the United States does not bind the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” Bwala said.
“There is no evidence that the minister has misappropriated funds in the government of Nigeria.”
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