§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he has responded to the formal request from the Nigerian authorities in relation to General Abacha and his associates; and if he will make a statement. [152496]
§ Mr. StrawA request has been received from the authorities in Nigeria with regard to the affairs of the late General Abacha and his family and associates. We are of course very keen to assist the Nigerians in this case, but we have to work within the framework of our own legislation. The request raised a number of issues which required clarification and amplification, and accordingly we wrote to those acting for the Nigerian Government in September last year asking for some additional information. Despite a number of reminders and follow up requests, we have not yet received a reply which is sufficient to enable us to proceed.