Posted by Punch, Our correspondents on
Contrary to his theory of a mystery escape, there were indications on Monday that the Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, disguised as a woman to beat the British security operatives on surveillance at his residence in London.
Contrary to his theory of a mystery escape, there were indications on Monday that the Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, disguised as a woman to beat the British security operatives on surveillance at his residence in London.
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, told journalists in Abuja on Monday, that the governor escaped by a night flight from Paris, France.
Though a version of the story said the governor landed in Cameroun and connected Bayelsa by speed boat, Ribadu insisted that Alamieyeseigha was brought in directly by an airline.
He refused to name the airline or the port of entry.
There were also conflicting reports about whether the governor returned with his wife, Margaret, who is also under investigation.
While unconfirmed reports said Margaret was still in London with other relatives, a source said she returned with her husband.
The London Metropolitan Police said when she was released on November 9, that they were not pressing charges against her.
In a swift reaction, the Met said efforts were on to trace the governor and bring him back for trial.
But both the British Police and the Nigerian security agencies on Monday began a joint preliminary investigation to unravel how Alamieyeseigha was smuggled out of London.
The governor was arrested on September 15, for alleged laundering of over £1million.
He was arraigned in October at the Bow Street Magistrate Court where stringent bail conditions were imposed on him.
Apart from the seizure of his passports, the Bow Street Court restricted Alamieyeseigha's movement to a three-mile radius in London.
Despite tight security, the governor was on Monday smuggled into Bayelsa State from Britain.
Clad in a brown bowler hat, a light brown dress and a pair of light brown shoes, the governor arrived the Government House, Yenagoa, at 10.10am.
After his introduction by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Oronto Douglas, the governor addressed the audience in Ijaw.
He said, 'I thank Bayelsans for holding the fort in my absence and for remaining steadfast. I will address Bayelsans later in the day on radio and television.
'My arrival is a mystery. I can't reconcile how I got here. I give God the glory," the state-owned radio quoted the governor as saying.
Ribadu confirmed that the governor disguised as a woman to beat the British Police surveillance.
He said, 'We heard that he escaped and returned home. I can only say it is shameful that he can return to this country where he will be protected. There is nowhere in the world where this will be allowed to happen.
'He forged documents and dressed like a woman, it happened around 8pm last night (Sunday); we are still investigating."
He said the governor's action indicated that he was capable of committing any crime. He said bail-jumping was not peculiar to Britain, but warned that the time allowed for the trial of a criminal does not expire.
He said, 'Foreign countries will take steps in the future. They will know what steps to take in the case of any suspect from Nigeria. It has dented our image. Here at home, we will not just sit back and allow him. We will take steps to address the problem soon."
It was gathered that the governor might have paid over 200,000 euros for his escape.
A Briton on Monday told our correspondents that some associates of the governor once approached him to arrange a passport to enable Alamieyeseigha escape from London.
'Some people who claimed to be linked with the governor asked me to organise a passport for him. This was shortly after the first arrest," the source said.
Findings however revealed that the return of the governor had caused an upset in The Presidency.
A source said President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was on a state visit to Sokoto State, had asked the Chief of Staff in The Presidency, Maj.-Gen. Abdullahi Mohammed (rtd), to review the situation.
It was learnt that Nigerian security agencies and the Met had initiated preliminary probe into how the governor skipped bail.
A security source said, 'We have been directed to collaborate with the London Police to unmask how the governor escaped.
'We are also on the trail of all his accomplices and we are hopeful of a breakthrough. This is a major test for the British Police and the Nigerian security agencies."
In a response to an enquiry by our correspondents, the spokesman of the Metropolitan Police, Alan Crockford, however, said they were on the trail of Alamieyeseigha.
Crockford said, 'We are aware Alamieyeseigha has failed to meet a requirement of his bail conditions. Enquiries are in hand to trace him."
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN, on Monday said that the Federal Government was yet to take a decision on Alamieyeseigha.
Ojo, who described the manner in which the governor sneaked into Nigeria as a matter of national concern, said that his office was still studying the situation and would make pronouncement as soon as possible.
Ojo refused to be drawn into further questioning on the issues.
The minister also declined comment on whether Nigeria has a repatriation agreement with the United Kingdom and the possibility of returning Alamieyeseigha to London for the continuation of his trial.
Ojo, who was in London in October to oppose Alamieyeseigha's application for bail, had deposed to an affidavit that the governor would jump bail like his Plateau State counterpart, Joshua Dariye.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olu Adeniji, said the governor's case required tact.
'We now have in our hands a case of a state governor in Nigeria being a fugitive ... His case will need some diplomatic manoeuvring to resolve. Here he has immunity, but in London he has no immunity. The legal people will have to work on that.
'We need to know the details of his leaving London; the circumstances, how he came into Nigeria and by what means," he added, in a televised interview.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Richard Gozney, was said to be in touch with his home country on the development.
When contacted, the Head of Press and Public Affairs of the British High Commission, Mr. Graeme Bannatyne, said, 'We can confirm that he Alamieyeseigha) has broken his bail conditions.
'It is a police matter. We expect the police to apply to a UK court for an arrest warrant for use if the governor returns to the UK."
In a statement issued by the Douglas, the governor said he was happy to be back to serve the people of Bayelsa state after 65 days 'in the wilderness of foreign restrictions and torment."
He said he had accepted his travail as God's will for his life and was committed to serve the state and Nigeria.
The statement also said dignataries in the state, including the acting Governor, Dr. Jonathan Goodluck; Chief Melford Okilo; and member of the council of traditional rulers, led by King Joshua Igbagara and Alfred Diete-Spiff, had paid the governor a solidarity visit.
Since 1960, the travails of Alamieyeseigha marked the fourth time that Nigeria would experience a tense diplomatic relationship with Britain.
Apart from the extradition of Chief Anthony Enahoro in the 60s, the Buhari-Idiagbon military regime made a botched attempt to smuggle a former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Umaru Dikko, through a crate in 1984.
The development led to the recall of the then Nigeria's High Commissioner to Britain, Gen. Halidu Hananiya (rtd).
In 2004, Governor Joshua Dariye who was arrested and granted bail for money laundering also jumped bail.
In Bayelsa, a convoy of over 200 vehicles, with riders of commercial motorcycles, took over the ever-busy Yenagoa-Mbiama Road, singing, drumming and dancing. The supporters of the governor displayed his portraits during the re-entry carnival.
Thousands of Bayelsans also lined the streets of Yenagoa to welcome the governor, with shops, offices and business outfits closed temporarily to welcome the governor.
The governor rode in an unmarked, black Range Rover with a gold-plated coat of arms and flags of Nigeria and Peoples Democratic Party on both sides.
A cousin of Alamieyeseigha, Chief Abel Ebifemowei, who is also his Special Adviser on Youth, Government House Transport and Logistics, who earlier escaped arrest by the EFCC, also rode in one of the jeeps.
While addressing his supporters at Amassoma - his hometown - Alamieyeseigha, said he could not reconcile how he got to the state.
He said, 'I give God the glory. God does not want to share His glory. This is an experience. Experience strengthens man, which nobody can buy. At the appropriate time, I will explain.
'I thank Bayelsans for the support. It is difficult to comprehend how my people love me. If things did not happen this way, you will not appreciate who is your friend or enemy.
'As somebody who has come to be a torchbearer, I see all these as a price a leader has to pay.
'The thought coming to my mind while in prison was that if half of my people could understand that their leader was going through all these because of them, I would have been a fulfilled man."
The Punch, Tuesday November 22, 2005