Posted by By EMMA EMEOZOR on
The British government has said it will return the money and assets of embattled Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyesegha to Nigeria upon a request from the Federal Government but on the condition that Abuja produces proof of evidence that it is stolen money.
The British government has said it will return the money and assets of embattled Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieyesegha to Nigeria upon a request from the Federal Government but on the condition that Abuja produces proof of evidence that it is stolen money.
In a telephone interview with Daily Sun, British High Commission spokesman, Neil Angell, who spoke from Abuja said, 'The Nigerian government would have to prove that it is stolen money." He said that the British government has no special interest in the money and assets of the governor, rather it is only interested in seeing that Alamieyesegha 'stand trial for the alleged offence of money laundering committed in the UK."
Angell was emphatic when he said that Alamieyesegha would still face trial in London even if he is tried and punished in Nigeria. On the possibility of Alamieyesegha returning to London to face trial, Angell said every effort would be made to extradite the governor. He however said it is the responsibility of the London Metropolitan Police and the British judiciary to set in motion the process of making formal request to the Nigerian government for Alamieyesegha's extradition.
There has been speculation of mutual suspicion between Nigeria and Britain over the fate of the governor. Sources close to the government say that Abuja is expressing fear that if returned to London, Alamieyesegha will not be imprisoned. Rather, he may enter a plea-bargain that may earn him only a forfeiture of his assets.
But Angell said this is not true though 'British government was not in a position to comment on the fate of the governor." He explained that it is the London Metropolitan Police and the British judiciary that are in a position to decide the fate of the governor based on the charges brought against him in court. Angell dismissed as not true speculations that there was foul play on the part of the British government in the escape of the governor from London.
Asked to comment on why British banks accept large sums of money from the likes of Alamieyesegha, Angell said British banks operate Western Money Transfer but within the country's banking regulatory laws. Angell believes the banks did not commit any offence for accepting money from the governor. Could the banks have reported the governor to the police authorities? Angell said, 'No." But he was quick to give insight into how British authorities are able to monitor financial crime. He said that the banks in Britain report to the government any lodgment above £10,000 at every given time.