26 FEBRUARY 2005, Page 18

Aid and loot

From Patrick Wye

Sir: On the day I read Rod Liddle’s splendid article on the folly of writing off Third World debt (‘Make naivety history’, 12 February), the Financial Times reported that the Swiss Supreme Court has ordered Swiss banks to return $500 million to Nigeria; this out of an estimated $2.2 billion looted by the former president Sani Abacha from state coffers.

Patrick Wye

Sierra Madre, California, USA