Nigeria has won a prolonged legal battle to recover over $6 million in arms funds that had been seized by the United States government since 2014.
The funds were seized about a decade ago from an arms broker, who was trying to supply military equipment from the US to Nigeria without having the necessary licence.
The US government said the arms broker’s active involvement in the sale, export, and supply of military products to Nigeria without authorisation was a violation of the Arms Export Control Act, leading to the seizure of the funds.
However, in a ruling on 23 December, the US District Court for Eastern California ordered the release of the funds totalling about $6.02 million after confirming Nigeria’s interest in it.
A copy of the ruling seen by PREMIUM TIMES shows that Judge Jenniffer Thurston issued a permanent order of forfeiture of the money in favour of Nigeria, modifying the earlier January 2020 preliminary order forfeiting the assets to the US government.
The judge ordered the US government to release the money with the accrued interests to the Nigerian government within 60 days.
“Within sixty (60) days from entry of this Stipulation for Final Order of Forfeiture and Order Thereon, the US Customs and Border Protection shall return the above-listed assets to Petitioner, along with any interest earned by the United States while on deposit in an interest-bearing account,” a copy of the court order reads.
Until the judgment, Nigeria faced a double whammy, having paid agents for the purchase of military equipment during the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2014, but receiving neither the funds nor the equipment it intended to purchase.
Nigeria paid the $6.02 million trapped in the US to an American arms broking firm, Dolarian Capital Inc (DCI).
Some of the funds passed through an arms broker from Niger Republic, Hima Aboubakar, who secured dubious defence contracts from the Nigerian government, highlighting the widespread irregularities, secrecy and misuse that often characterise arms procurement funds in Nigeria.
The deal ran into a roadblock in August 2014 when the US government denied Mr Dolarian’s application for approval to purchase and export the arms to Nigeria. As of that time, Mr Dolarian had received the money for the purchase of arms for Nigeria.
The US government seized the money, describing it as the proceeds of a violation of its Arms Export Control Act, on the grounds that Mr Dolarian and his DCI did not have the licence to engage in the sale, export, import and brokering of military products at the time.
At the instance of the US government, the US District Court in Eastern California issued on 2 February 2015 warrants for the seizure of the money held in five different bank accounts.
In June 2015, the US government applied to the US district court in Eastern California for an order forfeiting the funds.
The US government secured the court’s preliminary order of forfeiture of the assets in 2019.
It also charged Mr Dolarian, who subsequently pleaded guilty to the charge of brokering the sale of military equipment without a licence.
On 29 January 2020, the court issued a modified preliminary order for forfeiture of the money after Mr Dolarian pleaded guilty to the charge against him.
Meanwhile, the US government publicised the preliminary forfeiture order inviting anyone with an interest in the funds to come forward to claim it in court.
Only the Nigerian government heeded the call to claim the money. But its lawyers faced subtle resistance from the US government, which prolonged the legal process before formally acknowledging Nigeria’s interest and conceding to release the funds late this year.
*Source: Premium Times
