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The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has denied allegations that a US District Court authorised Louis E. Williams to seize $21 million from Nigeria’s account with JP Morgan.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Justice, signed by the AGF, clarified that the claims, initially published by an online media platform (not The Punch), are entirely false.
The AGF criticised the reports for failing to seek the Ministry’s response and challenged the media outlets to provide a copy of any US Court order related to the alleged seizure.
According to the Ministry, the US District Court has not authorised any seizure of Nigerian government funds.
The statement read: “The Ministry wishes to set the record straight regarding an inaccurate publication by Peoples Gazette and others, alleging that a US District Court has authorised a certain Louis E. Williams to seize $21 million
from Nigeria’s account with JP Morgan.
“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. Indeed, the Ministry challenges these media outlets to publish a copy of the US Court order authorising the said seizure.
“The Ministry hereby clarifies that at no time did the US District Court authorise the seizure of funds belonging to the Nigerian Government held by JP Morgan. The court merely refused Nigeria’s preliminary motion to dismiss the complaint against her on the grounds of sovereign immunity.
“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.
“Nigeria has launched robust legal defences in the UK and US courts against Williams’ claims, including launching fraud proceedings against him. The Nigerian government remains confident and optimistic that his attempts to strong-arm the government will fail.”
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