US To Return $954,000 Alamieyeseigha Loot

An agreement about the repatriation of $954,000 in Diepreye Alamieyeseigha’s loot, a former governor of Bayelsa State, has been signed between the United States and the Federal Government.

The news was revealed by Mary Beth Leonard, the US ambassador to Nigeria, during a press conference on Thursday in Abuja.

Leonard said that the former governor’s official compensation during his time working for the government from 1999 until his impeachment in 2005 did not correspond to the stated sum.

However, according to her, he amassed millions of dollars through misuse of his position and money laundering.

President Muhammadu Buhari has promptly ordered that the specified amount be used to improve Bayelsa’s healthcare, according to Beatrice Jedy-Agba, Solicitor-General of the Federation, who represented Nigeria at the briefing.

Alamieyeseigha, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 62, was arrested in London in September 2005 on suspicion of money laundering. About £1 million in cash was discovered at his London house at the time of his arrest by Metropolitan police.

Later, they discovered bank accounts and cash totaling £1.8 million ($3.2 million). He was discovered to be the owner of four residences in London, allegedly valued $10 million. He apparently disguised himself as a woman and skipped bail from the United Kingdom in December 2005, though Alamieyeseigha denied this.

On December 9, 2005, Alamieyeseigha was removed from office due to accusations of corruption, and his deputy at the time, Goodluck Jonathan, took over.

Alamieyeseigha was sentenced to two years in prison on each of the six charges he had admitted guilt to on July 26, 2007, in front of a Nigerian court. However, because the sentences were set to run concurrently and the time was calculated from the moment of his arrest nearly two years prior to the sentences, his actual sentence was relatively brief.

Later, Jonathan pardoned him, which attracted criticism.