Nigeria is about to obtain greater than $9.5 million in repatriated funds following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Authorities of Nigeria and the Bailiwick of Jersey to assist a crucial infrastructure challenge.
That is in response to a press release issued by the British Excessive Fee on Friday, which disclosed that His Majesty’s Lawyer Normal for Jersey, Mark Temple KC, signed the MoU in December 2025.
The funds, which had been forfeited after a court docket ruling in Jersey, might be utilized to the ultimate phases of the Abuja–Kano Highway challenge.
The repatriation follows authorized proceedings that decided the funds had been proceeds of corruption involving the diversion of Nigerian authorities sources.
In response to the assertion, on 29 November 2023, the Lawyer Normal of Jersey utilized to the Royal Courtroom of Jersey below the Forfeiture of Property (Civil Proceedings) (Jersey) Regulation 2018 for the forfeiture of belongings held in a Jersey {bank account}.
On 12 January 2024, the court docket granted a forfeiture order after discovering that the funds had been extra possible than not derived from a corrupt scheme involving third-party contractors and senior Nigerian officers and their associates.
Mark Temple KC described the event as an indication of the effectiveness of Jersey’s civil forfeiture regime in tackling corruption.
“This profitable return demonstrates the energy of our civil forfeiture laws as a strong instrument within the battle towards corruption,” he mentioned, whereas thanking Nigerian authorities for his or her cooperation all through the method.
The MoU builds on two earlier agreements between Jersey and Nigeria, below which greater than $300 million has already been repatriated.
These funds had been mentioned to have been deployed to finance three main infrastructure tasks—the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Second Niger Bridge, and the Abuja-Kano Highway.
In response to the British Excessive Fee, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the Second Niger Bridge have now been accomplished.
The newly repatriated $9.5 million might be used to assist the completion of the Abuja-Kano Highway, a 375-kilometre freeway linking Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, to Kano, the nation’s second-largest metropolis.
Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency within the English Channel, not a rustic in itself, however a part of the British Isles with its personal authorities, legal guidelines, and funds, whereas the UK handles its defence and worldwide illustration.
Whereas the assertion didn’t point out the Nigerian particular person(s) concerned within the corruption case that led to the forfeiture of over $9.5 in Jersey, this isn’t the primary time Nigeria is receiving cash stolen by previous authorities officers from different international locations.