Nigeria is set to receive more than $9.5 million in repatriated funds following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Government of Nigeria and the Bailiwick of Jersey to support a critical infrastructure project.
This is according to a statement issued by the British High Commission on Friday, which disclosed that His Majesty’s Attorney General for Jersey, Mark Temple KC, signed the MoU in December 2025.
The funds, which were forfeited after a court ruling in Jersey, will be applied to the final stages of the Abuja–Kano Road project.
The repatriation follows legal proceedings that determined the funds were proceeds of corruption involving the diversion of Nigerian government resources.
What they are saying
According to the statement, on 29 November 2023, the Attorney General of Jersey applied to the Royal Court of Jersey under the Forfeiture of Assets (Civil Proceedings) (Jersey) Law 2018 for the forfeiture of assets held in a Jersey bank account.
On 12 January 2024, the court granted a forfeiture order after finding that the funds were more likely than not derived from a corrupt scheme involving third-party contractors and senior Nigerian officials and their associates.
Mark Temple KC described the development as a demonstration of the effectiveness of Jersey’s civil forfeiture regime in tackling corruption.
“This successful return demonstrates the strength of our civil forfeiture legislation as a powerful tool in the fight against corruption,” he said, while thanking Nigerian authorities for their cooperation throughout the process.
- Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, welcomed the development, describing it as evidence of the effectiveness of international cooperation in asset recovery.
- He assured the Government of Jersey that the repatriated funds would be judiciously utilised in line with the terms of the MoU.
More details on the repatriation
The MoU builds on two earlier agreements between Jersey and Nigeria, under which more than $300 million has already been repatriated.
Those funds were said to have been deployed to finance three major infrastructure projects—the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Second Niger Bridge, and the Abuja-Kano Road.
According to the British High Commission, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge have now been completed.
The newly repatriated $9.5 million will be used to support the completion of the Abuja-Kano Road, a 375-kilometre highway linking Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, to Kano, the country’s second-largest city.
What you should know
Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the English Channel, not a country in itself, but part of the British Isles with its own government, laws, and finances, while the UK handles its defence and international representation.
While the statement did not mention the Nigerian individual(s) involved in the corruption case that led to the forfeiture of over $9.5 in Jersey, this is not the first time Nigeria is receiving money stolen by past government officials from other countries.
- In 2021, the UK returned about £4.2million seized from the former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, and his associates to Nigeria.
- Last year, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the United States Government formalized an agreement for the repatriation of $52.88 million, proceeds from the forfeiture of assets linked to former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and her associates.
