Speaking at an anti-corruption
event in London, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari asked the British
authorities to return stolen Nigerian assets held in British banks,
following British Prime Minister David Cameron’s labeling of Nigeria as a highly corrupt country.
Buhari
responded that while he wasn’t offended by Cameron’s remarks, as they
referred to the previous government led by Jonathan Goodluck, it was
still imperative that the UK assist Nigeria in returning money he
alleged to be hidden in British bank.
Last week, Nigerian authorities released estimates that some $15 billion of government money had been stolen through corrupt arms contracts under the previous government.
And in March, an official audit found that Nigeria's state-owned oil company, the National Petroleum Corporation, withheld $25 billion in oil revenues from the government.
And in March, an official audit found that Nigeria's state-owned oil company, the National Petroleum Corporation, withheld $25 billion in oil revenues from the government.
Buhari holds that high-level
officials under Goodluck transferred state assets out of the country and
parked them in UK as the preferred location.
Last
October, former Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources Diezani
Alison-Madueke was arrested on the request of Nigerian authorities who
alleged that $20 billion in oil money had gone missing under her watch.
In addition to Alison-Madeueke, the UK National Crime Agency arrested
her four brothers, all executives in UK-based oil companies. Her
extradition to Nigeria to face corruption charges was denied by UK
court.
In 2005, Nigerian state governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha fled the UK disguised as a woman while on bail for corruption charges as British police found $1.8 million in cash in his London home.
A report published in 2010 accused some UK-based banks of assisting corrupt officials to transfer the money to UK, but the banks’ involvement was never investigated. The report
said that five major UK banks have failed to adequately investigate the
source of tens of millions of dollars taken from two Nigeria officials,
tried and sentenced in UK.
By James Burgess of Oilprice.com
