• Still a wanted person in UK- Metropolitan Police tells court
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The trial of former Plateau State governor, Senator Joshua Dariye, took an international dimension yesterday as the Metropolitan Police Service, (MPS), London, told an Abuja High Court that he is still wanted in the United Kingdom over money laundering allegations.
Also, the Federal Government has filed an amended charge against him.
Dariye is expected to take a fresh plea on the amended charges on June 6.
Mr. Peter Clerk, a detective, who led a team of Met police officers that arrested Dariye on September 28, 2004, made the disclosure yesterday while testifying as a prosecution witness.
Clerk, who was led in evidence by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) as PW9, told the court that a warrant of arrest that was issued against Dariye in 2004, after he jumped bail in London and ran back to Nigeria to escape being prosecuted, is still valid.
The ex- governor is facing a 23-count criminal charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against the former governor before the high court.
Clerk,s who is now retired, gave a detailed narrative of how his team, arrested the defendant and his personal assistant, Christabel Bentu, in a hotel in London.
He said Dariye’s arrest and subsequent detention was fallout of an investigation into a credit card fraud involving one Christopher McQuiney who he said was caught with 11, 500.00 pounds concealed in a brief case. The witness told the court that McQuiney, who was arrested and taken to a police station in North Eat London, confessed that the money belonged to his boss, Dariye.
He said: “I am a retried detective of Metropolitan Police London. Last ten years in my career I was at the proceeds of corruption unit which was responsible for the investigation of money laundering cases against Dariye and D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha. “When I interviewed Christopher he said the money in the brief case belonged to his boss, Joshua Dariye. He works in London and Mr. Dariye sponsored him to study in IK. However, when Dariye comes to London, he usually helped him. Mr. Dariye asked him to pay the 11, 500.00 pounds into his bank but he could not as he had no time. Mr. dariye according to Christopher is a politician and a Governor in Nigeria. He said that he is a customer of Barclays bank”.
The witness said he immediately contacted the Nigerian diplomat in London, one Mr. A.O. Okey, who helped him with Dariye’s profile. He said investigations by Met revealed that Dariye operated nine different bank accounts in London.