This position was announced by the Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, on March 26, 2014, Wednesday.
The U.S. previously informed that the funds held in various European accounts were the "proceeds of corruption" during General Sani Abacha's regime (1993 - 1998).
The minister applauded"the efforts of the United States to recover the funds for the benefit of the people of Nigeria".
Adoke said his office was cooperating with Washington's legal efforts against Abacha's relatives and associates, which could result in the permanent forfeiture of all the money.
"The overall objective of these efforts is to ensure that Nigeria as the Victim State is able to have the forfeited assets repatriated,"Adoke said.
The minister also added that Nigeria would do all that is required to accomplish this goal.
The U.S. Justice Department did not specify what actions would be taken with regard to the Abacha funds, whenthe seizure was announcedon March 5, 2014.
The US government's Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative "where appropriate" provides for the return of stolen proceeds "to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office".
The repatriation of the Abacha funds directly into Nigeria's coffers would likely spark criticism among civil society leaders who claim the government cannot be trusted to spend money on public services.
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