A field assessment report on the projects embarked upon with recovered public funds by previous governments has alleged re-looting of the funds.
The report was conducted by a coalition of civil society organizations, including Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA Resource Centre), Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), Journalists for Democratic Rights, (JODER), Value and Integrity Group and PLAYYA.
The investigations specifically focused on the $505 million Abacha loot recovered from Swiss Government in 2004 which the government under President Olusegun Obasanjo committed to financing specific projects under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
However, the findings conducted by the CSOs early this year revealed that most of the projects were either not carried out or were abandoned.
The report which was presented in Lagos yesterday also contained video footages of project sites in 23 locations scattered across five geo-political zones of the country covering Rivers, Cross River, Imo, Anambra, Oyo, Ogun, Adamawa and Sokoto states.
Presenting the report and the documentary at a briefing, Chairman of CSNAC, Mr. Suraju Olanrewaju said the coalition was compiling the list of contractors with a view to forwarding them to the anti-graft agencies for investigation.
He said the investigation was conducted to awaken Nigerians’ consciousness that fighting corruption did not end in recovering looted funds but people must take interest in how the recovered funds were utilized.
He said the government at the time took the commendable step of channeling the funds into specific public projects with the aim of building legacy projects from funds recovered from corrupt public officials but many of the projects were not properly executed by the contractors.
