South Africa Plans To Return Seized Nigerian Money To Buhari After May 29

South Africa is considering returning more
than R100-million in Nigerian money that it
confiscated last year, or clearing the way to
sell arms to the West African country.
The Mail & Guardian has learned through
diplomatic sources that South Africa has
begun talks to work out a process to return
the money in an effort to start off on a clean
slate with the recently elected government
of the Nigerian president-elect,
Muhammadu Buhari.
South African law enforcement agencies
seized $15-million in two batches: $5.7-
million that had been wired to Standard
Bank and $9.3-million in cash, which was
confiscated. It was brought into the country
through Lanseria airport in Johannesburg in
three suitcases by a delegation said to
represent the Nigerian government. In both
cases, the money was suspected to be for
illegal use.
Now South Africa wants to use the money
to extend an olive branch to Buhari’s
government and mend relations between
the two countries, which became strained
during the tenure of outgoing president
Goodluck Jonathan.
“The positive thing about [Buhari] is that one
of the people who supported him is Atiku
Abubakar. That makes him our man and he
will automatically work well with [President
Jacob] Zuma,” a government source said.
Close connection
Abubakar is close to Zuma. He was
Nigeria’s deputy president during the
presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, at the
time when Zuma was Thabo Mbeki’s
deputy.
“Also, this man [Buhari] is a [retired] military
general. It is true that the military needs
some beefing up to fight Boko Haram and
we should help,” the source added.
So how will Nigeria know that it stands to
benefit from an otherwise controversial
transaction that had exacerbated tensions
between the two countries?
Explained the government source:
“Diplomatically you send a signal.
Obviously they will have to make a request
once they receive a positive signal, but the
request will just be an official step to
finalising the transaction.”
Buhari is due to take over the leadership of
the country after winning the recent
elections. Formal talks have not yet begun
but South Africa has apparently started
sending “positive signals” through its
diplomats in Nigeria and to the Nigerian
embassy in Pretoria.
Diplomatically favourable
To ensure that the process of returning the
money or regularising the sale of arms
looks as clean as possible, the Hawks
investigation will continue, the source said,
but will be managed politically to reach a
conclusion that is diplomatically favourable.
“One way is to make the investigators say:
‘Yes, a law has been broken, but it’s true
that the government [of Nigeria] is the
owner of that money and genuinely wanted
to buy arms legally. They might have
flouted the rules, but it’s a genuine
transaction.’ [We will say] this money does
not come from dirty hands or rebels or
arms dealers,” the source said.
“We will find a way to regularise the
transaction and either return the money or
give them arms.”
Nigeria wanted to buy arms such as
helicopters and ammunition to strengthen
its fight against Islamic extremist group
Boko Haram.