Of Dariye, EFCC and British Authorities

I normally download a podcst of the round-up of major stories on/from Africa by the BBC each evening. Yesterday’s edition was concluded with a report by Sola Odunfa. The story goes something like this: Joshua Dariye, the former Plateau state (Nigeria) governor who is currently on trial on corruption charges, accuses the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the London Metropolitan Police of colluding to short-change Nigeria. Why? Because, the report goes, Dariye says that the acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr James Tansley, handed two cheques worth a total amount of about 29.3 million naira. According to Dariye, the amount siezed from his cohorts and him was more than 770 million Naira. He said all this in a petition to the Nigerian president. The petition was written on October 1.

Dariye and his nine lives
Mr Joshua Dariye first became a big embarrassment for Nigeria when he was arrested on money laundering charges in the UK in 2004. He subsequently jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. The money that was siezed from him at that time is the topic of the current controversies. The governor was sacked twice by former President Obasanjo, but after each occassion, he found his way back to his office. This, as BBC reports, has earned him the nickname “the cat with nine lives”. The most recent life seems to be under threat. He is currently standing trial for embezzlement after he lost his immunity as he concluded his term as governor.

EFCC’s and British Authorities’ Response
On the following day, EFCC published a letter written by Osita Nwajah, its head of Media and Publicity, saying that the commission was not involved in handling the money, that it never had any deal with the London Metropolitan Police concerning the returned money, and that its involvement with the London Met Police concerned the provision of assistance on the Dariye investigation. The letter is here, and an update is here.

On their part, the British authorities have said that the money that was handed over to the Nigerian government was only a part, the part that was released to it by the British judiciary system. ThisDay reports today, October 4, quoting a conversation with Mr. Tunde Asaju, the Head of Press and Public Affairs of the British High Commission. He is reported to have said that the remaining money would be released as soon as the British courts released it to British authorities.

A Good Side to Dariye’s Play
In a weird way, I find Dariye’s play very fruitful, especially as it has made us realise that there is much more where the 29.3 million naira came from. I am really surprised at the window dressing of the presentation of the 29.3 million naira, especially when it is an extremely small percentage of the 770 million naira that Dariye alleged was siezed from him. Thanks to Dariye, it is going to be difficult for the British government to forget to talk about the remaining money. I wonder why we do not have an official figure of the amount that was siezed by the London Metropolitan Police. I would like to believe that that is due to the fact that the British judiciary system prevents the disclosure of such information.

What started out as an attempt by Dariye to save his neck from the EFCC by accusing it of colluding with the London Metropolitan Police to cheat the Nigerian government – an action that is itself very stupid, considering that it is tantamount to pleading guilty to charges of money-laundring – has ended up throwing more light on issues that would have remained hidden. This is one issue that I plan to keenly follow.