Diepreye Alamieyeseigha came the
nation's consciousness and infamy home and abroad with his romances with
extravagant acquisitions decorated with accusations of corruption - and later
arrest and drama of jumping bail abroad reportedly dressed as a woman.
Here is a peep into the interesting
engagements that threw up the late former governor into public eye.
Alamieyeseigha escaped from London in December 2005 in a very dramatic manner. Some report had it that he disguised himself as a woman in his desperate bid to return to Nigeria.
But back home, while serving him an
unexpected notice of impeachment, the Bayelsa State House of Assembly accused
him of offences including:
*Maintaining foreign bank accounts
while in office in the following banks: Barclays Bank Plc, London; National
Westminster Bank, London; Royal Bank of Scotland; and Commerz Bank, London.
*Corrupt enrichment of his relatives
and cronies.
*Criminal diversion and
misappropriation of public funds to facilitate acquisition of shares in Bond Bank
PLc by private placement.
*Purchase of Chelsea Hotel, Abuja
for the sum of Two billion naira and;
*Acquisition of £ 10 Million worth
of properties in London.
Following his instigation by the
Probe panel constituted to examine his case, Alamieyeseigha got a damning
report that sealed his fate as he was found to have:
*Brought the exalted office of the
governor of Bayelsa State to disrepute, odium and ridicule by jumping a London bail
and returning to Nigeria.
* Become an International fugitive
as the Scotland Yard may issued a warrant of arrest against him which embarrassed
the people of Bayelsa.
* By this ignominious conduct
scandalized and embarrassed Bayelsans and indeed all Nigerians.
*Jeopardized the safety and
besmirched the reputation of Nigerians living in or visiting The United
Kingdom.
*Breached his oath to respect
international law.
The Bayelsa State House of Assembly
subsequently impeached him from office on December 8, 2005 after adopting the
report of the seven-man impeachment panel set up by the Chief Justice of
Bayelsa State, Emmanuel Igonarwari. He was found me guilty of gross misconduct.
Continuing his brush with the law,
he was arrested by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),
questioned, and charged with numerous money laundering and corruption offences.
These included six charges of making false declaration of assets, and 23 charges of money laundering by my company. On December 13, 2005, the Federal Government filed a fresh 17-count charge against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal sitting in Kaduna. He was accused of contrary to section 7 and punishable under section 23 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. Cap. 56 LFN 1990 as incorporated under paragraph 11, part 1, fifth schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, maintaining the following bank accounts, amongst other ones, while serving as Governor of Bayelsa State:
These included six charges of making false declaration of assets, and 23 charges of money laundering by my company. On December 13, 2005, the Federal Government filed a fresh 17-count charge against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal sitting in Kaduna. He was accused of contrary to section 7 and punishable under section 23 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. Cap. 56 LFN 1990 as incorporated under paragraph 11, part 1, fifth schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, maintaining the following bank accounts, amongst other ones, while serving as Governor of Bayelsa State:
Account number 10659347 with
Barclays Bank Plc, United Kingdom with a balance of GBP203,753.34 as at 15th
February 2005;
Account number 3239940 with UBS
Warburg AG, 1 Curzon Street, London, W1J 5HB with a balance of $2.5 million as
at September 2005;
Account number 338931 in the name of
FALCON INC. with UBS Warburg AG, 1 Curzon Street, London, W1J 5HB;
Account number 7341553/7341596 FOR
us dollars with Barclays Bank Plc at International Banking Unit, 88 Dighemis
Akritas Avenue 1644, Nicosla, Cyprus;
Account number 7341588 for GB pounds
Sterling with Barclays Bank Plc at International Banking Unit, 88 Dighemis
Akrltas Avenue 1644, Nicosia, Cyprus ;
Bank account number 5005220454-7 in
Denmark with JYSKE Bank at Bseterbrogate, 9, DK-1780, Copeenhagen V with a
balance of at $2.5 million;
Bank account number 005482562491
with Bank of America United States of America in the name of Peter
Aklamleyeseigh with a balance of $160,000.00
He was also accused of falsely
declaring his assets by refusing to declare the following properties upon his
re-election in 2003:
Property known as Water Gardens,
London W2 2DG which I bought at GBP1.75 million in the name of my company known
as Solomon & Peters Ltd;
Property at 14 Mapesbury Road, London,
NW2 4JB which you bought at GBP1.4 million;
Property at 14 Jubilee Heights, School Uphill, London, NW2 2UQ, which you bought at GBP241,000;
Property at No. 68-70, Regent’s Road, London, N3 bought at 3 million Pounds Sterling.
Property at 14 Jubilee Heights, School Uphill, London, NW2 2UQ, which you bought at GBP241,000;
Property at No. 68-70, Regent’s Road, London, N3 bought at 3 million Pounds Sterling.
His acquisition, while being the
Governor of Bayelsa State between 29th May 1999 and 9th December 2005, of the
following properties, also brought him into conflict with the law at some
point:
Chelsea Hotel Abuja worth of N2
Billion for which N1.5 Billion was paid;
Two block of luxury flats at Plot 26
Bashir Dalhatu Close, Abacha Estate, Ikoyi worth of N45;
Property at John Kadiya Street, off Jose Marti Crescent, Asokoro, Abuja worth N350; million;
Property at John Kadiya Street, off Jose Marti Crescent, Asokoro, Abuja worth N350; million;
Six luxury duplexes at No. 1
Community, Road, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos worth N200 million
On June 29, 2011, the US federal
district judge in the state of Massachusetts ordered that he should forfeit the
sum of N60m ($401,931) to the United States Government. Along with the sum, he
lost a property he bought in the state of Maryland, valued at N90m ($600,000).
And in February 2006, the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting
Authority of South Africa secured a court order to confiscate his house at the
Cape Town waterfront.
The last of his run in with the law
was the sudden extradition request sent to the Federal Government of Nigeria by
the United Kingdom on the premise that he has an outstanding case of money
laundering to answer in that country.