Nigeria: Forensic Audit - Vindicating the Accused

opinion

When my wife broke the news to me that Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had alleged in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan that $49.8 billion of Nigeria's unremitted oil revenue was missing, suggesting that the money had been stolen, I did not hesitate in telling her that it was not true. She then asked why I would say so and I told her the amount was too large to be stealable. Then I added, on a lighter note, that if such an amount hits any account in any bank as stolen money, it would trigger an earthquake that cannot be measured on the Richter scale. I reiterated this incredulity as a guest of Focus Nigeria, the current affairs programme broadcast by the African Independent Television (AIT). So, I was one of those sceptical - in fact dismissive - of Sanusi's allegation from the onset.

To put in perspective my scepticism that the amount in question could be stolen: Cable News Network (CNN) broadcast a news bar recently about a Russian hacking ring that has reportedly "stolen up to $1 billion from banks around the world in what would be one of the biggest banking breaches known." The hackers were discovered to have been active "since at least the end of 2013 and infiltrated more than 100 banks in 30 countries," stealing not more than $10 million dollars at a time. So, if their theft of $1 billion made global news as unprecedented, then imagine $49.8 billion!

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