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Gov Alamieyeseigha Arrested in London By Yusuph Olaniyonu, Moses Jolayemi in Lagos and Chuks Okocha in Port Harcourt, 09.15.2005
Money Laundering
Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was yesterday arrested in London, United Kingdom on allegation of money laundering. It could not be immediately confirmed if he was released yesterday or if he would be prosecuted in London. THISDAY gathered from authoritative sources that Alamieyeseigha was arrested by men of the London Metropolitan Police yesterday afternoon at the Heathrow Airport on his way from Germany where he had gone for medical check up. His arrest, a source said, may not have been unconnected to the earlier interrogation of a lady who was said to have tried to transfer a huge sum of money believed to be between £10 million to £20 million from an account with the HSBC, a prominent bank in London. The huge sum involved in the transaction had alerted the Metropolitan Police whose officers quizzed the lady. She was said to have revealed that she was only managing the account on behalf of Alamieyeseigha. A source said since the lady's encounter with the Metropoli-tan Police, Alamieyeseigha had been on the watch list of the British law enforcement agencies. Another source, however, added that Alamieyeseigha was taken to his house for a search after the arrest and that about one million pounds was found in a safe in the house. Though this could not be independently confirmed, the source said the governor had been warned by his friends not to travel to Britain until investigations were concluded. The British High Commissioner, Mr. Richard Gozney, yesterday confirmed that the Bayelsa state governor was questioned by the London Police. Gozney who spoke to THISDAY last night however refused to give further details on the arrest “because we have a strict policy of allowing the Police to explain themselves to the media”. The envoy described the incident as a normal police work in Britain. The British government, Gozney said, is working closely with the Nigerian security agencies on “a collective effort by Nigeria to fight and eliminate trans-national crime”. He, however, declined further comments saying “we do not comment on individual cases”. A lady who spoke to THISDAY on phone from the London Metropolitan Police last night said she was aware further of the incident but could not give details. She then directed our reporter to the press section of the Scotland Yard where she said details of the case could be provided. All efforts to get hold of any of the officers at the Scotland Yard however failed as the telephone was permanently on answering service. The Nigerian High Commission could not also be reached last night for comments. There are however indications that Alamieyeseigha may not be released so soon for fear that he may jump bail and return to Nigeria where he enjoys immunity from civil and criminal prosecution as provided for in Section 181 of the constitution. Attempts to get officials of Bayelsa State Government to react to the development proved abortive. Even several calls made to Alamieyeseigha by THISDAY were unsuccessful. The State Commissioner fior Information, Oronto Douglas is however, expected to address the press on the issue today. There are unconfirmed reports that security has been beefed up in Bayelsa. A few of the governor’s friends who were contacted in London to help reach him were not able to get across to him. In 2003, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) had quizzed Bayelsa State Government officials over the use of some phony companies not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to secure multi-million naira contracts. The various petitions bordering on corrupt practices almost stopped the renomination of Alamieyeseigha as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate. Also, last week, Bayelsa State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Solomon Apreala, accountant general, Elder Steven Enanamu and Government House accountant, Olaitan Ikemike were arrested in Yenagoa, the state capital, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and taken to Port Harcourt for interrogation over financial irregularities concerning the building of a Government House complex and an executive speed boat for the governor. Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye had last year been arrested by the same London Metropolitan Police over allegations of money laundering and illegal transfer of funds. But after his arrest, Dariye was released on bail and was to keep appointment with the London police. But he returned to Nigeria and has refused to make himself available for further interrogation by the London police. Dariye was then on suspension from office following the declaration of a state of emergency in his state by President Olusegun Obasanjo. In an enquiry about his status from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the London Police, it was said that Dariye enjoyed no immunity. It was argued that even if he was not suspended his immunity does not extend to a foreign country.
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It is an open secret that most Nigerian Government officials are corrupt. It is also a known fact that that almost every government official through time has stolen money one way or the other from the people. As a result, there is great need to purge the Nation of this menance.
However, i wonder if Obasanjo is the one to do it. I personally don't believe that OBJ is as clean as he would want to have us believe. This his much publicised anti-corruption drive is ( as far as i can see) a charade - a mere spectacle to decieve the world into believing that he is the saviour Nigerians have been clamouring for.
I will start believing in Nigeria moving forward the day ( if by a miracle) someone has the clout to probe and investigate I.B.B., A. Abubakar, Obasanjo and his cohorts, and the other well known public thieves galivanting in high places, and parading themselves as messiahs of the Nation.
As far as this Gov Alamieyeseigha's issue is concerned, i want to properly look at whatever facts may come to light, before i make my judgement. In the meantime, i am tempted to be swayed towards the camp that believe that this is more of a witch-hunt by the powers that be because of the man's stand on some very sensitive 'national issues'
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quote:September 19, 2005 No immunity for govs outside Nigeria — FG *Alamieyeseigha: Oil firms beef up security in Niger-Delta
ABUJA — THE Presidency said, yesterday, that Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State who was arrested in London last Thursday for alleged money laundering, or indeed any Nigerian elected government official cannot enjoy diplomatic immunity outside the shores of the country.
By Rotimi Ajayi, Ise-Oluwa Ige & Okay Ndiribe Posted to the Web: Monday, September 19, 2005
The state government has, however, dismissed reports that the governor was arraigned in court, while the Ijaw People’s Assembly has written to the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, protesting his arrest.
Reacting to suggestions that Governor Alamieyeseigha ought not to have been arrested since he was carrying a diplomatic passport at the time, Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, said the fact that some government officials carry diplomatic passport does not confer immunity on them outside Nigeria.
He said: "Please leave Mr President out of this matter. I am reluctant to comment on this issue because it is an on-going investigation but what I can say is that the idea of Mr President in anyway waiving diplomatic immunity for someone who is being accused of a very serious crime is not possible in law and as such does not arise.
"I don’t know where these people read their law. I don’t know where people that are saying this read their law but it is certainly not possible, neither is it desirable for Mr President to get involved in an on-going investigation in a foreign country.
"Under the British law, there is no immunity attached to a state governor. It is as simple as that and the relevant laws here (in this case) are British laws not Nigerian laws.
"Therefore, our hands are completely tied. In any case, it is not even desirable for us to get involved or to say too much about this issue other than to say as Mr President has said himself, that it is part and parcel of our on-going fight against corruption and we in government will continue to play our role in this respect.
"We are focused on what we are doing to rid this country of corruption. Those who are saying this should direct their question to the British police or EFCC."
Also speaking on the issue in an interview, an Abuja-based legal practitioner and member of the Inner Bar, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), said: "The Federal Government has the competence to withdraw the diplomatic immunity of any of its citizenry to confer on the host country the rights to investigate such citizen if the need arises as being witnessed in the Bayelsa governor’s case.
"But the immunity conferred on the governor by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria cannot be waived on behalf of the beneficiary. It is not within the province of the Federal Government to waive or purport to waive such immunity," he said, adding that such domestic immunity only operates within the boundary of Nigeria.
Alamieyeseigha was not charged, says Bayelsa govt
The Bayelsa State Government says Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha has not been charged with any wrong-doing. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Oronto Douglas, in a statement described reports of the governor’s purported arraignment as a mendacious campaign to smear the governor.
"It is commonplace fact that when a person is charged, certain counts would be read over to him in respect of which he is expected to plead guilty or not guilty. Chief Alamieyeseigha was not charged before any court. So the question of an arraignment does not arise. This is a trite legal matter that should not be allowed to confuse the people of Nigeria by those who have a selfish agenda," he said, adding: "Is it not surprising that until now, no one has been able to tell us the name of the court, the name of the magistrate or judge and the counts of offences?
"After he (Alamieyeseigha) was picked by the British Police at Heathrow Airport, he was taken to Ilford Police Station where he was asked a few questions and subsequently released on bail on self-recognition. It is a wicked lie to state that the governor was arraigned before a London court. Even the London Metropolitan Police has made it quite clear that this is an on-going investigation."
The commissioner expressed regrets that the governor appeared to have already been tried and convicted by sections of the media. "Under British and Nigerian laws, the governor remains innocent until he has his day in a court of law," Douglas said.
The statement indicated that the Bayelsa State Executive Council was in touch with Alamieyeseigha, adding that despite his poor health he was in high spirits.
Ijaw demand release
And in a letter to the British High Commission in Nigeria, the Ijaw People’s Assembly, Lagos asked Britain to release the governor unconditionally.
It said: "The recent arrest and detention by the Metropolitan Police, London, of the Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha (JP), the Governor-General of the Ijaw Nation and an illustrious son of the Ijaw, has come to us as a rude shock.
"You will recall that the Ijaws in Nigeria have a long standing historical, political and economic relationship with the British Crown dating back to the pre-colonial era. The Ijaws of Nigeria and the British have benefitted from this relationship till the time the Anglo-Dutch Company, Shell, discovered oil in commercial quantity in 1957 in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State.
"Your Excellency, the Ijaw People’s Assembly (IPA) Lagos sees Governor Alamieyeseigha, the Governor-General of the Ijaw nation, as a symbol of unity of Ijaws across the country and in diaspora. His arrest and detention is viewed as a serious embarrassment attributable to his political foes to frustrate his future political ambition.
"It is a collaboration between the political powers in Nigeria and the British Metropolitan Police to tarnish the image of Governor Alamieyeseigha, Bayelsa State and the entire Ijaw nation. We pray that this conspiracy does not aggravate the state of his excellency’s health.
"We urge you to use your good offices to intervene to stop this show of shame in order not to further strain the existing cordial relationship. If this is done, it will help to dampen the heightened tension generated by the unfortunate arrest."
Oil companies tighten security
Oil and gas companies operating in the country have commenced monitoring their facilities and raised security measures following threats by some militant groups in the Niger Delta to attack British interests in the Niger Delta over what they described as attempts to ridicule Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State in London.
Specifically, the Ijaw Youth Council threatened to attack British citizens and corporate interests if the governor’s papers seized following the arrest was not released to him immediately to enable him return to the country.
In a reaction, a Shell Petroleum Development Company spokesman who pleaded anonymity said the company was still monitoring the situation closely and that measures had been taken to ensure safety of the company’s personnel.
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Alamieyeseigha lands in Brixton prisons * To remain in prison till Oct 6
By Ikechukwu Eze & John Ighodaro with agency reports Posted to the Web: Thursday, September 29, 2005
LONDON—EMBATTLED Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State was, yesterday, remanded in prison custody by a British court following his arraignment for laundering £1.8 million found in cash and in bank accounts. He will be there till October 6 when the case resumes.
The governor was denied bail because the magistrate feared he (Alamieyeseigha) might leave the UK as did Governor Joshua Dariye last year. But his supporters back home are threatening reprisals against oil installations in the Niger Delta, while a coalition of militia youth groups — Coalition for Militant Action in the Niger Delta (COMA) —yesterday rejected a plea by the detained leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Dokubo Asari, to cease action against government and oil facilities. Governor Alamieyeseigha was brought before Bow Street Magistrate in London to hear a three-count charge of money laundering.
He was originally arrested on September 15 as he passed through London’s Heathrow Airport. Scotland Yard detectives allegedly found over £1 million in cash in Alamieyeseigha’s luxury London mansion.
Under Nigerian law, he enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office. However, the British Government issued a certificate, saying he has no immunity in England contrary to claims by his counsel that his arrest was an abuse.
Last year, another Nigerian state governor was arrested in London. Joshua Dariye from Plateau State was quizzed by police on money laundering allegations involving more than one million pounds. He was freed on bail and returned to Nigeria, and is still wanted for questioning by the British police.
Gov. Alamieyeseigha is in custody at Brixton Prison which was sold to government in 1862 converted into a Prison for females. Twenty years later it was again converted, this time as a military prison, and in 1898, when it was returned to the prison commissioners, the buildings were enlarged and improved and made the trial and remand prison for the whole of the London area. Now it is used for male offenders whose sentences do not exceed two years, those sentenced in the first division and for debtors and prisoners on remand.
The prison comprises four main residential units, plus health care. These are: A wing which houses 143 cells (mostly doubled, 1 for disabled), B wing which houses 86 cells (some doubled, lifer main centre for short-tariff offenders). C wing has 69 cells (all doubled, 1 for disabled), G wing 151 cells (61 doubled, 1 for a disabled person). Health Care Centre (D wing) houses 36 spaces. All cells have integral sanitation and B and C wings have in-cell electrics. It had 798 inmates as at February 27, 2004.
Meanwhile, ethnic militants in the Niger Delta yesterday accused London of interfering in Nigerian politics and threatened to launch attacks on British citizens and oil installations if their champion was not released.
“We know that the British are not operating in our interests... we will not accept it,” said Jonjon Oyinfie, president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), which has in the past mounted armed attacks and kidnappings in the Niger Delta.
“We are mobilising to take any necessary action against the British and the Federal Government. If they push us, then they should expect the worst,” he said, warning that the IYC would not simply hijack oil facilities and await a payout as similar groups have done in the past. “If we go there, the platform will be completely destroyed,” he said.
Group tackles Dokubo
Also yesterday, a coalition of militant youths groups by the name Coalition for Militant Action in the Niger Delta (COMA) rejected Alhaji Dokubo Asari’s order to his group, the NDPVF, to “suspend action,” saying the decision was unacceptable.
In a statement, COMA said it rejected the decision and pronouncement by the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force to stay off militant action.
“This decision is unwelcome, despicable and totally disagreeable. The NDPVF has to realise that the government of the Nigerian state is not a government that listens. This assertion is also in agreement with the recent comments made by Vice President Atiku Abubakar. It is, therefore, unthinkable to believe that the same government can be reasoned with. The Coalition For Militant Action has, therefore, resolved to take full control of soon-to-be deployed military attack against interests and agents of the Nigerian state.”
The coalition claimed it was a strategic alliance of all militant groups in the Niger Delta who rejected the strange decision of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force to stay militant action.
Alliance members, according to the statement, are: The Isein Justice Movement, Ijaw Militant Group, Niger Delta Guerillas, Ogoni Justice Seeker, The Movement for Mass Militancy in the Niger Delta, Judgment Day Coalition and several others.
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