A former governor of Bayelsa State,
Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, might be arrested anytime he steps out of
Nigeria, as he is still under investigation in some countries.
This
is notwithstanding the presidential pardon granted him by the National
Council of State after a meeting on Tuesday in Abuja.
Also
granted pardon were a former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Gen.
Shehu Musa Yar’Adua; ex-Chief of General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya;
ex-Minister of Works, the late Brig.-Gen. Abdulkarim Adisa; ex-Minister
of Comminucations, Maj-Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju; Major Bello Magaji;
Alhaji Mohammed Lima Biu; and an erstwhile Managing Director of Bank of
the North, Shettima Bulama.
Diplomatic sources told our
correspondent that the ex-governor risks arrest because the
international investigation of his involvement in corruption and money
laundering is still on course.
The investigation is a
multilateral effort by the governments of Britain, United States, South
Africa, Bahamas and Seychelles as well as the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime and the World Bank under the Stolen Assets Recovery
Initiative.
The STAR case against Alamieyeseigha reads in part,
““Between the start of his period of office in May 1999, to late 2005,
Alamieyeseigha accumulated (outside Nigeria) known properties, bank
accounts, investments and cash exceeding £10m in value. His portfolio of
foreign assets included accounts with five banks in the UK and further
accounts with banks in Cyprus, Denmark and the United States; four
London properties acquired for a total of £4.8m; a Cape Town harbour
penthouse acquired for almost £1m, possible assets in the United States,
and almost £1m in cash stored in one of his London properties.
“Some
of the foreign assets were held in his name and that of his wife, but
the bulk of them were held by companies and trusts incorporated in the
Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, South Africa, and Seychelles.”
The British High Commission declined to comment on the issue on Thursday.
A terse text message sent to our correspondent reads, “We do not discuss investigations. So, we cannot comment.”
Alamieyeseigha
had previously been detained in London on charges of money laundering
in September 2005. At the time of his arrest, the Metropolitan Police
found about £1m in cash in his London home. Later they found a total of
£1.8m in cash and bank accounts.
He jumped bail in London by allegedly dressing like a woman and returned to Nigeria.
However,
the Federal Government on Thursday gave the assurance that it would
press ahead with the recovery of the assets and ensure their return to
Bayelsa State.
The Nigerian government had through the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission instituted an assets recovery suit at
the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London against the former governor,
his wife, Margaret; some companies – Santolina Investment Corporation,
Solomon and Peters Limited, Falcon Flights Incorporated, Ebco Associates
Limited, Fiduciary International Limited, HBOS Plc, Royal Albatross
Properties 67 (PTY) Limited; and a Swiss bank, UBS AG.
The court
had on February 27, 2007 refused the Nigerian government’s attempt to
obtain a summary judgment to recover immovable assets and funds in bank
accounts totalling over £10m, which were allegedly held in the names of
Alamieyeseigha, his wife and some corporate entities.
Justice
Lewison had on February 27, 2007 refused the application on the grounds
that Alamieyeseigha was not present in court to defend himself. The
judge also said the evidence presented by the Nigerian government was
based on testimonies to EFCC by individuals, some of whom changed their
accounts.
Nothing has, however, been heard about the suit since then.
Asked
whether the suit at the London high court would be withdrawn, Adoke
replied said, “No. It will continue and all recoveries shall pass on to
the Bayelsa State Government.”
Meanwhile, the United States, the
Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders and a former member of the House of
Representatives, Dino Melaye, have condemned the Federal Government’s
pardon for Alamieyeseigha and Bulama.
Of the pardoned lot,
Alamieyeseigha and Bulama were the only ones convicted for corrupt
practices after their arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.
However, the US Government through its embassy in
Abuja decried the Nigerian government’s decision to grant pardon to
officials convicted for graft.
In a post on Twitter, the US
government wrote, “The USG (United States Government) is deeply
disappointed over the recent pardons of corrupt officials by the GON
(Government of Nigeria). We see this as a setback in the fight against
corruption.”
In a swift reaction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
on Friday summoned the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States
Embassy to protest the tweet credited to its spokeswoman, Deb MacLean.
In
a statement, the ministry said it conveyed the protest via a diplomatic
note, in which it “strongly condemned the comment from the US Embassy
in Abuja, which it described as undue interference and meddlesomeness in
the internal affairs of Nigeria.”
The statement added that it
“was not the first time a government in Nigeria or elsewhere would grant
state pardon to individuals who have committed one crime or the other.”
The ministry further stressed that “the pardon granted is entirely consistent with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.”
The
ministry said it hoped “that the Embassy of the United States of
America would henceforth desist from making unwarranted comments on
Nigeria’s internal affairs which are capable of undermining the friendly
relations that exist between them.”
Melaye, who is the executive
secretary of the Anti-Corruption Network, described the presidential
pardon on both men as a “great disservice to upcoming generations.”
In
an interview with Saturday PUNCH, he predicted that the eighth Senate
would have corrupt figures like Alamieseiyegha, Bode George and James
Ibori.
He said, “Goodluck Ebele Jonathan by that national pardon
announced his romance and marriage with corruption. It is absurd,
nonsensical and signals a government that promotes corruption and
corrupt persons.
Also speaking, CACOL Chairman, Mr. Debo
Adeniran, stated that the pardon given the ex-governor was proof that
Jonathan lacks direction.
He said, “President Goodluck Jonathan
is proving every Nigerian right by the hour that he is rudderless. It is
unthinkable that a presidential pardon could be handed a man like
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who bled his state’s coffers white during his
tenure as the governor because such pardon is only given for political
offences, not criminal.
