Maryam Abacha, the widow of Nigeria’s former military ruler, General Sani Abacha, has again rejected longstanding accusations that her late husband looted the country’s treasury during his time in power from 1993 to 1998.
Speaking in an interview, marking 27 years since the former Head of State died in office on June 8, 1998, Mrs. Abacha insisted that allegations of financial misconduct against her husband were false and politically motivated.
She argued that much of what has been said over the years was misrepresentation.
“Who is the witness of the monies that were being stashed? Did you see the signature or the evidence of any monies stashed abroad? And the monies that my husband kept for Nigeria, in a few months, the monies vanished,” she said.
Despite her denial, successive Nigerian administrations have recovered large sums of money, commonly referred to as the “Abacha loot”, from various foreign accounts linked to the late general.
These funds, repatriated from countries including Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom, have been used for public welfare and development projects.
Still, Mrs. Abacha questioned the basis of such claims and called for tangible proof.
“People are not talking about that. Why are you blaming somebody for something? Is that tribalism or a religious problem? Or what is the problem with Nigerians? I pray for Nigerians. I pray for all of us.”
Appealing for national unity and fairness, she also criticized how people and the media handle such sensitive issues.
“I pray that we should have goodness in our hearts. We should stop telling lies and blaming people. Why are we so bad towards each other? Because somebody is a Northerner or a Southerner, somebody is a Muslim or a Christian, or somebody is nice,” she said.
“It’s not fair. I think the press should try. You, the press, should try to educate the people. You are here to educate the people, to inform the people, and to entertain. You are here to help the country. You are not here to bastardise people,” she added.
