President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has said he does not want an apology from David Cameron for calling his country fantastically corrupt, but a return of the billions taken out of his country and sent to the UK.
Speaking at a Commonwealth anti-corruption conference, he said: “What would I do with an apology? I need something tangible. I am not going to demand any apology from anyone. What I am demanding is a return of assets.”
Around $37bn (£25.6bn) in stolen money from Nigeria has been routed through London, Nigeria’s anti-corruption chief, Ibrahim Mahu, said at the conference.
Buhari said it was well established that Nigerian assets were being stolen on an industrial scale, often being sent through financial centres such as London. The country had lost billions through stolen oil and leading politicians taking money. It was now facing disaster, he said.
“With the collapse of the oil price we need every cent we can get now just to pay salaries, if not for anything else.”
Asked at the event if Nigeria was a “fantastically corrupt” country, Buhari thought for a moment and said: “Yes.”
He refused, however, to say whether he regarded Cameron’s remarks as rude, saying that Britain had led in trying to track down former Nigerian government members who had acted disgracefully.
He also praised British law enforcement agencies for arresting former Nigerian governors, including some who dressed as women to get out of the UK.
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