Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Policy Communication, has stated that there is no legal evidence proving that the Minister of Budget, Abubakar Bagudu, misappropriated public funds.
Speaking on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head with host Mehdi Hasan, Bwala addressed long-standing allegations from the 1990s involving the Abacha era.
Bwala argued that while the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has previously linked Bagudu to the "Abacha loot," those American court decisions are not binding on the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The Presidential aide emphasized that under Nigerian law, the Minister has not been found guilty of any financial crimes or embezzlement.
The interview referenced 2020 reports from the US stating that Bagudu was part of a network that moved billions of dollars out of Nigeria during the military regime of Sani Abacha.
Bwala maintained that Bagudu is fit to serve in the current cabinet because there is no "proven" misconduct within the Nigerian legal system.
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