In a bid to avoid a diplomatic face-off, South Africa says it is ready to return monies seized from Nigeria in the month of September.
The Nigerian government insists that the money totaling $15 million are meant for legitimate arm deals.
S.A Ambassador to Nigeria, Lulu Mnguni, said his country was willing to talk to Nigeria in order to resolve the crisis, stating that they had no interest in keeping Nigeria’s money but only wanted to follow due process.
“Well, obviously we also in South Africa don’t want to keep Nigeria’s money, but we want to follow due process to address it. It’s their money and so they would like to have their money back.
“We’ve been selling arms to Nigeria for many years, so we don’t have a problem. Why should we not sell arms to Nigeria? If Nigeria needs arms to protect its citizens and its peoples, so we have to assist them,” Monaisa added.
Naijalog recalls that, South African operatives had confiscated $9.3m stashed in three suitcases on September 5, 2014 at Lanseria International Airport, Johannesburg, in a private jet which flew in from Nigeria, accusing the occupants of attempting to smuggle the undeclared cash into their country.
While the controversy on the propriety of the botched transaction was ongoing, the South African authorities seized yet another $5.7million cash belong to Nigeria for arms purchase.