US court didn’t order seizure of Nigeria’s $21m – AGF
The Federal Government has dismissed as erroneous, reports that a District Court in the United States of America, USA, has ordered the seizure of Nigeria’s $21 million from its account with JP Morgan.
A statement by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said that the case instituted by one Louis E. Williams before the court was still pending.
“The Ministry hereby clarifies that at no time did the US District Court authorize the seizure of funds belonging to the Nigerian Government in the custody of JP Morgan. The court only refused Nigeria’s preliminary motion to dismiss the complaint against her on grounds of sovereign immunity.
“The implication of the decision rendered on 12 August 2024 is that the case would now proceed to a substantive hearing on merit wherein parties are required to present evidence and legal submissions in support of their case before the court will issue a final decision.
“It is pertinent to state that Nigeria has filed an appeal against the interlocutory decision in issue.
“Nigeria has launched robust legal defences/challenges in the UK and US courts against Williams’ claims, including by launching proceedings against him for fraud and therefore remains quite confident and optimistic that his attempts to strong-arm the Nigerian government will come to nought,” the statement further read.
The statement observed that none of the media outlets that syndicated 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 authorizing the said seizure.”
