Switzerland will return to Nigeria some $380m (£260m) allegedly looted by ex-military ruler Sani Abacha, an official has said.

The transfer, to be conducted under the supervision of the World Bank, will end a 16-year case against the Abacha family.

Switzerland has already returned $700m, following appeals from Nigeria. Abacha ruled the oil-rich West African state with an iron fist from 1993 until his death in 1998.

Soon thereafter, Nigeria’s new rulers asked Switzerland to help it recover $2.2bn that he had reportedly stashed in European bank accounts.

The $380m was seized in 2006 in Luxembourg, following a request from Swiss authorities, the Geneva prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The World Bank has been asked to oversee the return of the latest money, presumably to add a degree of transparency.

Democratic rule was restored in Nigeria a year after Abacha’s death.
The Citizen