United States and the Nigerian Federal Government have signed an agreement for the repatriation of $954,000 loot of the former Bayelsa State governor, late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, announced this during a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja.
Leonard said the former Bayelsa governor’s official salary throughout his tenure as a public servant between 1999 and to his impeachment in 2005 did not match the said amount.
But she said Alamieyeseigha accumulated millions of dollars through abuse of office and money laundering.
Solicitor-General of the Federation, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, who represented Nigeria at the briefing, said President Muhammadu Buhari had immediately directed that the money be utilised in developing Bayelsa State healthcare sector.
She said, “This asset return arose from the forfeiture and recovery of approximately $1 million USD linked to the corrupt practices of former Bayelsa state governor, D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha. The United States Government, in collaboration with the Federal Republic of Nigeria initiated and completed forfeiture proceedings against certain real property and investment funds located in Maryland and Massachusetts against the former governor, which resulted in the net forfeiture to the Government of United States of America totalling the sum of $954,807.40.
“Following the court order, the FRN and the USA have negotiated and finalized the terms of the asset return agreement.
“It is worthy to note that in line with the terms of this agreement, Mr President has already approved the expected sum to be utilised for the implementation of a health centre project for the benefit of the people of Bayelsa State and to be monitored by the civil society organisations and the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Justice.”
The former Bayelsa governor, who died at the age of 62, in October 2015 was detained in London on charges of money laundering in September 2005. At the time of his arrest, Metropolitan police found about £1m in cash in his London home.
They later found a total of £1.8m ($3.2m) in cash and bank accounts. He was found to own four homes in London worth an alleged £10 million. He jumped bail in December 2005 from the United Kingdom by allegedly disguising himself as a woman, though Alamieyeseigha denied this claim.
He was impeached on allegations of corruption on December 9, 2005 and Goodluck Jonathan, his deputy at the time, took over.
On July 26, 2007, Alamieyeseigha pleaded guilty before a Nigerian court to six charges and was sentenced to two years in prison on each charg. But because the sentences were set to run concurrently and the time was counted from the point of his arrest nearly two years before the sentences, his actual sentence was relatively short.
President Jonathan later granted him pardon, a decision that was heavily criticised by Nigerians.