The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has refuted claims that a U.S. District Court authorized the seizure of $21 million from Nigeria’s account with JP Morgan. The Ministry of Justice issued a statement on Wednesday, dismissing reports from certain media outlets, which it described as inaccurate.
Fagbemi clarified that the false information, initially published by an online platform, was baseless and challenged the media outlets to present any evidence of a U.S. court order authorizing such a seizure. “None of the media outlets sought the reaction of the Nigerian government, and we challenge them to publish any court order that supports their claim,” the statement read.
The Ministry emphasized that the court had not authorized any seizure of Nigerian government funds. Instead, the U.S. court had merely refused Nigeria’s preliminary motion to dismiss a complaint based on sovereign immunity.
The case in question involves British-Nigerian businessman Williams Emovbira, who alleges that he was defrauded and mistreated by Nigerian domestic intelligence in the 1980s. Emovbira has been seeking damages in the form of $21 million from Nigeria’s account with JP Morgan.
In response, the Nigerian government has launched legal defenses in both the UK and U.S. courts. Fagbemi expressed confidence that these actions would protect Nigeria’s interests, stating, “Nigeria remains confident that Williams’ attempts to strong-arm the government will fail.”
The case is expected to proceed to a full hearing, during which both parties will present their evidence before a final decision is made. Meanwhile, Nigeria has filed an appeal against the court’s interlocutory ruling.
This clarification follows a similar case from August 2023, where misleading reports claimed a UK court had authorized the seizure of $21 million from Nigeria’s Central Bank account.
