By Ishaya Ibrahim
The alleged loot of the former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, would be repatriated to Nigeria, according to an agreement signed by the United States and the Federal Government.
According to a report by Punch, the Nigerian and US governments signed an agreement to reinstate $954,000 allegedly stolen by Alamieyeseigha.
The agreement was signed on Thursday in Abuja by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, and the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jedy-Agba.
Alamieyeseigha was Bayelsa Governor between 1999 and 2005 when he was impeached and arrested over an alleged £1.8m ($3.2m) found in cash and bank accounts while he was on a trip to that country.
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Alamieyeseigha 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. Later they found a total of £1.8m ($3.2m) in cash and bank account. He was alleged to have jumped bail and fled to Nigeria by disguising himself as a woman, a claim he denied.
He was arraigned in Nigeria on an allegation of money laundering. On July 26, 2007, Alamieyeseigha was convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment by a Nigerian court. He was released from prison a few days after he stepped in due to time already served.
He was later granted a state pardon in 2013 by then-President Goodluck Jonathan.