Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the Chief Security Officer to former Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, has denied knowledge of the infamous “Abacha loot”.
Al-Mustapha made this known in Kaduna on Wednesday.
He said he had already challenged the government to confront him with the details of the so-called loot, especially if the late Head of State took the money abroad while in government or when out of it.
Al-Mustapha, “When in December 1999 ‘Abacha loot’ was made on the pages of newspapers, some of us were very embarrassed. I am baffled that there is something called Abacha loot.
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“I was interrogated in a bad manner. I was asked if I had a foreign account and I said yes, the one I opened when I went to the United Kingdom for study.
“In that account then, I had $3,200 and when I was leaving, I left just $10 so it will not become dormant in case I have a cause to further my studies. I said if they found any other account I was operating, they should take the money and return it to government purse and expose me to the whole world.”
He added, “I asked the government of Obasanjo at that time: when you went to discover the $323 million, when was the money lodged, before or after Abacha became head of state? They should tell Nigerians.
“They are always quick to share the money to themselves. They should stop lying against the dead because it is God that will speak for him. That is the issue for another day when the record will be brought forward and Nigerians will see and understand. I’m not speaking for Abacha because I didn’t know about it. I was not consulted when he was keeping the money outside Nigeria.”
Al-Mustapha also lambasted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing the anti-graft agency of chasing shadows.
“EFCC came overnight with a few equipment and personnel and started making the loudest noise. That is why I have likened it to a small monkey given a thread to arrest an elephant. The monkey is always busy looking for the elephant. It was given binoculars to look for an elephant that is so close to it, but it is busy arresting ants and abandoned the elephant that is busy destroying the animal kingdom. That is what is going on today.
“If you have to fight corruption in Nigeria, you have to tackle it from multi-faceted angles. This small structure called the EFCC is not enough to fight corruption. It requires a bigger body that has the capacity of intelligence, that can reach out to the international community to get our stolen funds starched abroad and equally prosecute, rather than relying on the regular police to do that.”