Jersey to return £1.9m but may deduct £45,000 as legal costs
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Jersey says it will explore with Abuja the repatriation of £1.9 million a Jersey court seized from Jeremiah Useni on 19 May which he stole from Nigeria and saved up in four bank accounts on the island when he was in the army in the 1980s and 1990s.
But the amount may be less £45,000 the Royal Court of Jersey – a British crown dependency – ordered be taken to pay the legal costs of Standard Chartered Bank.
That will leave a balance of £1.855 million for Nigeria.
“I will explore with the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria how to return these forfeited assets to the people of Nigeria,” Attorney General Mark Temple said in a statement on the Jersey government website.
“However, there is an existing framework for the return of funds to Nigeria linked to the Abacha regime which was successfully established with the Governments of Nigeria and the United States in relation to the return of over US$300 million of the assets of Doraville Properties Corporation.”
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Assets recovery agreement
PREMIMUM TIMES explains that the tripartite assets recovery deal was agreed upon in February 2020 to facilitate the return and use in Nigeria of recovered Abacha loot hidden in Jersey that was more than $300 million in the particular instance.
Nigeria then committed to using the money to expedite the construction of three major infrastructure projects – Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Abuja-Kano Road, and the Second Niger Bridge.
More than $160 million in Abacha-linked stolen assets recovered from Atiku Bagudu was returned to Nigeria in 2003. Bagudu is now Kebbi Governor and an ally of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Useni, also known as Jerry Boy, retired from the army and joined politics after democracy the return of democracy in 1999. He became a Senator (Plateau South) in 2015 but lost his run for Governor in 2019 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
False identity
Useni, 79, a close ally of Sani Abacha and former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, opened the Jersey accounts under the false name of “Tim Shani”.
The name bears similarity with two of the nine assets linked to him and targeted for seizure by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 2003 – Tim Tali Motels, Langtang, and Tim Tali Farms Gwagwalada.
Abuja was unable to confiscate the assets which investigators said were derived from illicit sources after Useni went to court despite having already agreed to forfeit five of the assets.
In Jersey, he only disclosed his true identity and ownership of the funds in 2007 after a certified copy of his passport was requested in line with new anti-money laundering rules and his failure to move the funds to Nigeria.
Jersey on repatriation of funds
The full statement the Jersey government issued on the repatriation of the £1.9 million is reproduced below:
“On 28 May 2021 Her Majesty’s Attorney General served a forfeiture notice under Article 10 (1) of the Forfeiture of Assets (Civil Proceedings) (Jersey) Law 2018 on Lieutenant General Jeremiah Timbut Useni (Retired) seeking the forfeiture of approximately £1.9 million deposited into Jersey numbered bank accounts in a false identity between 1989 and the late 1990s.
“After today (19 May), the Royal Court granted the Attorney General’s application to forfeit the funds.
“The Attorney General argued the accounts were created to hold and conceal bribes, or other proceeds of corruption, received by Lieutenant General Useni during the period he held high political office in the Abacha regime.
“The payments into the accounts were received by Lieutenant General Useni for the purposes or on account of, exercising political influence over the award of lucrative contracts to foreign and Nigerian companies for the supply of industrial or commercial services in Nigeria and therefore represented tainted property liable to be forfeited under the 2018 Forfeiture Law.
“Lieutenant General Useni did not attend the forfeiture hearing nor was he represented at the hearing, although he was represented at previous hearings in the case. The decision is open to appeal.
“Her Majesty’s Attorney General, Mark Temple QC, said:
‘“Jersey has robust and effective legislation which in appropriate cases will be used to forfeit monies associated with corruption summarily and ensure that such funds are returned for the benefit of the people who have suffered from its effects.
‘“I will explore with the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria how to return these forfeited assets to the people of Nigeria.
‘“However, there is an existing framework for the return of funds to Nigeria linked to the Abacha regime which was successfully established with the Governments of Nigeria and the United States in relation to the return of over US$300 million of the assets of Doraville Properties Corporation.”
