The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has denied reports that a US District Court authorised Louis E. Williams to seize $21 million from Nigeria’s account with JP Morgan.
The denial was included in a statement released on Wednesday through the Ministry of Justice and signed by the AGF; it explained that the claim, which was part of a publication on an online news platform, was false.
The AGF noted that the media failed in its reportage by failing to contact the ministry for its response before the publication of the report. The AGF challenged the media organization to provide a copy of any US Court order related to the alleged seizure.
The ministry noted that the US District Court has not authorised any seizure of Nigerian government funds.
The statement noted that the ministry also clarified that at no time did the US District Court authorise the seizure of funds belonging to the Nigerian Government held by JP Morgan. It was explained that the court only refused Nigeria’s preliminary motion to dismiss the complaint against her on the grounds of sovereign immunity.
The ministry disclosed that the Nigerian government has launched robust legal defences in the UK and US courts against the claims made by Williams, which includes launching fraud proceedings against him. It also noted that the Nigerian government remains confident and optimistic that his attempts to strong-arm the government will fail.
