Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has firmly denied reports claiming that a U.S. District Court has authorized Louis E. Williams to seize $21 million from Nigeria’s account at JP Morgan.
According PUNCH, in an official statement released on Wednesday, Fagbemi described the allegations as entirely false and criticized certain media outlets for not seeking clarification from the Ministry of Justice before publishing the story.
The initial report, which appeared on an online platform had claimed that Williams had received legal authorization from a U.S. court to confiscate the funds from Nigeria.
Fagbemi challenged the media to provide any U.S. court order that supports the alleged seizure of Nigerian assets, reiterating that no such action had been sanctioned by any U.S. court. He stated, “The Ministry wishes to set the record straight regarding an inaccurate publication by Peoples Gazette and others, alleging that a U.S. District Court has authorized a certain Louis E. Williams to seize $21 million from Nigeria’s account with JP Morgan.”
The controversy appears to stem from an earlier report by Peoples Gazette on August 21, 2023, which erroneously claimed that a UK court had authorized Williams Emovbira to seize the same amount from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s account at JP Morgan in New York. Fagbemi pointed out that none of the media outlets that propagated this narrative reached out to the Nigerian government for comment.
He noted, “We wish to note that the report follows similarly inaccurate publications by Peoples Gazette on 21 August 2023 under the title: ‘UK Court authorises SSS victim Williams Emovbira to seize $21 million from CBN account with JP Morgan in New York.’ None of the media outlets that circulated the story sought the reaction of the Nigerian government.”
The Ministry of Justice clarified that while the U.S. District Court had not authorized the seizure of Nigerian government funds, it did reject Nigeria’s preliminary motion to dismiss Williams’ complaint based on sovereign immunity, allowing the case to advance to a full hearing. “The Ministry hereby clarifies that at no time did the U.S. District Court authorize the seizure of funds belonging to the Nigerian Government held by JP Morgan,” the AGF stated.
Fagbemi added that Nigeria has appealed the court’s decision and expressed confidence that the case would now proceed to a substantive hearing where both parties can present their evidence before the court renders a final verdict.
“The implication of the decision rendered on 12 August 2024 is that the case will now proceed to a substantive hearing on its merits, during which the parties will present evidence and legal submissions to support their cases before the court issues a final decision. It is important to note that Nigeria has filed an appeal against the interlocutory decision,” the statement explained.
Additionally, Nigeria is pursuing counterclaims against Williams, including allegations of fraud, in both UK and U.S. courts. The government remains optimistic that its legal defenses will prevail and that Williams’ attempts to recover the funds will be unsuccessful.
“Nigeria has launched robust legal defenses in the UK and U.S. courts against Williams’ claims, including initiating fraud proceedings against him. The Nigerian government remains confident and optimistic that his attempts to strong-arm the government will fail,” the statement concluded.
This communication from the Ministry of Justice seeks to clarify any misinformation surrounding the alleged seizure and reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to protecting its interests in international courts.
(PUNCH METRO)
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