Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has categorically refuted reports claiming that a U.S. District Court granted permission for Louis E. Williams to seize $21 million from Nigeria’s account held at JP Morgan.
According to The PUNCH, the AGF addressed the allegations in an official statement released on Wednesday, clarifying that the reports circulating in some media outlets were entirely false.
The initial story, published by an online platform not affiliated with The Punch, suggested that Williams had been granted legal authority by a U.S. court to confiscate the funds from Nigeria.
Fagbemi, however, firmly denied these assertions and criticized the media outlets for failing to seek clarification or an official response from the Ministry of Justice before running with the story.
In the statement, the AGF specifically challenged the media organizations to produce any U.S. court order authorizing the alleged seizure of Nigerian assets.
He further emphasized that, contrary to the claims made, no such action had been authorized by any U.S. court.
“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 authorised a certain Louis E. Williams to seize $21 million from Nigeria’s account with JP Morgan,” the AGF’s statement read.
The controversy appears to have stemmed from a previous report published by ‘Peoples Gazette’ on August 21, 2023, which falsely claimed that a UK court had authorized Williams Emovbira to seize $21 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s account with JP Morgan in New York.
Fagbemi pointed out that none of the outlets that propagated the story made any attempt to contact the Nigerian government for its side of the matter.
“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 U.S. Court order authorising the said seizure,” the statement continued.
The Ministry of Justice clarified that the U.S. District Court had not given any authorization for the seizure of Nigerian government funds. Rather, the court had merely ruled against Nigeria’s preliminary motion to dismiss Williams’ complaint on the basis of sovereign immunity, allowing the case to proceed to a full hearing.
“The Ministry hereby clarifies that at no time did the U.S. 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 AGF stated.
Fagbemi added that Nigeria has since appealed the court’s decision. The AGF reassured the public that the case would now proceed to a substantive hearing where both parties would present their evidence, after which the court would make a final decision.
“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 outlined.
Moreover, Nigeria is pursuing counterclaims against Williams, including fraud allegations, in both the UK and U.S. courts. The government remains confident that its legal defenses will succeed and that Williams’ efforts to recover the funds will be thwarted.
“Nigeria has launched robust legal defences in the UK and U.S. 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,” the statement concluded.
This statement from the Ministry of Justice aims to dispel any misinformation regarding the alleged seizure and reinforces Nigeria’s commitment to defending its interests in international courts.