United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Mary Beth Leonard (third from right) flanked by the Bayelsa State Attorney General Mr Biriyai Dambo SAN, Solicitor General of the Federation, Mrs Beatrice Geddi-Agba, representing the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, during the exchange of agreement notes between the US and Nigeria in Abuja, Thursday
U.S set to repatriate $954, 807 Alamieyeseigha loot to Nigeria
United States Government says it has concluded plans to return the sum of $954, 807. 40 representing stolen assets by former Bayelsa Governor, now late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha to Nigeria.
Making the disclosure during the exchange of agreement notes between the United States and Nigeria in Abuja, Thursday, the country’s ambassador, Mrs Mary Beth Leonard, said the deal marks the conclusion of a 15-year legal process which followed tenure of the late Alamieyeseigha.
According to the U.S ambassador, Alamieyeseigha’s official salary as a public servant did not exceed the equivalent of about $81,000 per year.
Mrs Leonard noted that during the period, the former Bayelsa Governor accumulated millions of dollars worth of property through corrupt acts such as abuse of office, money laundering, and other violations of Nigerian and US law.
She said the funds were returned in accordance with “our obligations under the UN convention against corruption and to further the tenets of transparency and accountability outlined in the Global Forum on asset recovery principles for disposition and transfer of confiscated stolen assets and corruption.”
Ambassador Leonard expressed the commitment of the United States in denying safe haven to corrupt actors and the assets they have illicitly acquired, whether from Nigeria or other parts of the world.
According to her “as the first country to criminalise foreign bribery, we took our role as a standard bearer seriously and will continue to strive to increase accountability and transparency and counter and respond to corrupt acts.”
In 2022, the Department of State publicly designated over 80 corrupt foreign officials and their immediate family members and denied them entry into the United States.
Remarking at the event, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami thanked the US government for its support in the country’s anti-corruption crusade, just as he promised good utilization of the resources.
Represented by the Solicitor General of the Federation, Mrs Beatrice Geddi-Agba, the Attorney General said already President Muhammadu Buhari has approved that the funds be used on health projects in Bayelsa to be monitored by civil society organizations.
Malami urged the US government to continue to support Nigeria in other pending cases to ensure that, the funds are repatriated back to the country.
Also, the Bayelsa State Attorney General Mr Biriyai Dambo SAN promised judicious use of the funds for the benefit of the people.
The US government in collaboration with Nigeria initiated the forfeiture proceedings of certain real property and investment funds located in Maryland and Massachusetts against the former Bayelsa State Governor.
