Lawyers acting for Nigeria's government on Wednesday urged other countries to return money plundered by the late dictator Sani Abacha, after Switzerland's supreme court on Wednesday allowed the restitution of $458-million.

Switzerland's Federal Tribunal brushed aside a last ditch appeal from the family of one of Nigeria's former military rulers and sided with a government decree last August ordering the restitution of most of the remaining funds frozen in Swiss banks.

Abacha, who died in 1998, is suspected of having looted the Nigerian central bank to the tune of about $2.2-billion when he ruled Africa's most populous nation from November 1993 to June 1998.

Switzerland had already ordered the restitution of about $200-million of the $700-million frozen in Swiss bank accounts, while another $300-million had been returned "voluntarily" to Nigeria by account holders, said Enrico Monfrini, head of the legal firm acting for Nigeria in its bid to recover funds abroad.

Apart from Switzerland, Nigeria has also asked for help in tracing looted assets in Britain, the Channel Islands, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and the United States.

Investigators believe most of the plundered assets have been controlled by Abba and his brother, Mohamed Abacha, since their father died.

They were legal parties in the Swiss court appeal.

09 February 2005