AONDOAKAA: U.S MAY HALT ASSISTANCE TO NIGERIA ON CORRUPTION FIGHT
 |
| Aondoakaa |
The United States may consider halting further assistance to Nigeria’s fight against corruption following reports that the British government has been stone-walled in its quest to prosecute corrupt Nigerian politicians.
Already officials of the United States of America have started comparing notes with their United Kingdom counterparts over the seriousness of Nigerian Government in successfully prosecuting its crusade against corruption, money laundering and other forms of international financial crimes.
Britain last week complained about obstruction from Nigeria to the Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement between the two countries especially in the fight against money laundering. Specifically, British officials said Justice Minister, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa's reluctance to assist the U.K in prosecuting James Ibori “was nothing short of bizarre and a hypocritical departure from established norm.”
However, a state department official who confirmed to Pointblanknews.com about a discussion between Britain and the U.S on the issue described Mr. Aondoakaa’s reluctance as “disappointing and capable of truncating the promised support for the fight against corruption in Nigeria.”
“It is going to be very disappointing because in our last visit to Nigeria, they wanted assistance to fight corruption and we agreed to assist. Such assistance can only be rendered when they show seriousness to fight corruption,” the state department official noted.
The U.S state department source told pointblanknews.com last week that officials from Britain have been discussing with state department officials over the difficulties it have been facing in prosecuting corrupt Nigerian politicians.
The source disclosed that the State Department is expecting a formal note from British officials detailing how its moves to prosecute Nigerian politicians have been frustrated by the Nigerian Government.
The note, according to the source, when received would be evaluated from where a position might be taking.
“We are waiting for a formal note on that issue. Talks have been on about how they ( Britain) feel about the Nigerian people but we expect that when we get a formal note on that, a decision will be reached on what to do or how to intervene,” the source said.
“Remember we have similar agreement with Nigeria and we would not want to go through all that when the time comes. We are taking this very seriously and expecting to get details from our friends in England,” the source added.
The State Department source that was part of the delegation of Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte that visited Nigeria last month said the information from Britain about Nigeria’s fight for corruption was disappointing.