Nigeria’s federal government has welcomed an agreement by Jersey, a self-governing British crown dependency, to return more than $9.5m identified as proceeds of corruption, in the latest cross-border recovery of illicit assets linked to the country.
The Bailiwick of Jersey has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nigeria committing to repatriate the funds, which will be used to support the final stages of the Abuja–Kano road, a 375km highway linking the capital to Kano, the country’s second-largest city.
According to a statement issued by the British high commission, the agreement was signed by Jersey’s attorney general, Mark Temple KC, in December 2025 and formally confirmed in Abuja on Friday, 9 January 2026.
The forfeiture followed an application filed by the Jersey attorney general on 29 November 2023 under the Forfeiture of Assets (Civil Proceedings) (Jersey) Law 2018, relating to funds held in a Jersey bank account.
In January 2024, the Royal Court of Jersey granted a forfeiture order after finding that the money was more likely than not the proceeds of a corrupt scheme in which third-party contractors diverted Nigerian government funds for the benefit of senior officials and their associates.
Under the new agreement, the recovered $9.5m will be channelled into the Abuja–Kano road project, which is nearing completion. Earlier repatriations under similar agreements helped finance the Lagos–Ibadan expressway and the Second Niger Bridge, both of which have since been completed.
In a statement, Jersey’s attorney general said the case demonstrated the effectiveness of the island’s civil forfeiture laws. “This successful return demonstrates the strength of our civil forfeiture legislation as a powerful tool in the fight against corruption,” Temple said, thanking Nigerian authorities for their cooperation and his department’s economic crime unit for its role in recovering the funds.
Nigeria’s minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, Lateef Fagbemi, described the repatriation as further evidence of the impact of international collaboration in tackling corruption.
“The successful recovery and repatriation of the forfeited assets underscores the effectiveness of Nigeria’s collaborative efforts with its international partners in ensuring that there is no safe haven for illicitly acquired wealth moved to foreign jurisdictions,” he said.
Fagbemi also commended Jersey for its cooperation, assuring that the funds would be used judiciously and strictly in line with the terms of the memorandum.
The latest agreement builds on two previous arrangements between Jersey and Nigeria, under which more than $300m has already been returned to fund major infrastructure projects, reinforcing the growing use of civil forfeiture and cross-border cooperation in the recovery of stolen public assets.
