The Federal Government has demanded an apology from the British government after a parliamentarian made an “unsubstantiated” claim that Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s former head of state, looted public treasury. The British parliamentarian, Tom Tugendhat, was quoted during a debate on a petition regarding arbitrary use of force and brutality by Nigerian security forces on Tuesday, saying "some people will remember when General Gown left Nigeria with half the Central Bank and moved to London.” Tugendhat, however, the MP did not provide any evidence or source to support his claim.
The allegation since Thursday became a heated topic of controversy especially on the Nigeria social media space, with many users. Mr. Gowon himself dismissed the statement as “rubbish”.
In a statement on Friday Ferdinand Nwonye, spokesman of the ministry of foreign affairs stated that Nigeria has demanded that the statement be retracted.
According to Nwonye the ministry, upon learning of the claim, “immediately sought an apology and retraction of the unsubstantiated allegation from the British Government”.
He said the federal government also consulted with Charlotte Pierre, head of Africa Department of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, who expressed strong reservations on the comment of the Parliamentarian.
The same statement quoted Pierre as saying “the said comment of the MP does not reflect the views of Her Majesty’s Government and the British Government has no mechanism for controlling the actions and speeches of members of the Parliament.”
It added that she urged Nigeria to discountenance the said comment of the MP, as Her Majesty’s Government has nothing to do with it.
He had told the BBC: “What the MP said was just mere ridicule and I don’t know as to where he cooked up such statement. I served Nigeria as much as I could and my achievements during those years are available to everyone.”
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