Abuja — The Metropolitan Police Service, MPS, London, Monday, told an
Abuja High Court sitting at Gudu that the former governor of Plateau
State, Joshua Dariye, who is now a serving Senator, is still wanted in
the United Kingdom over his alleged involvement in money laundering.
It told the court
that a warrant of arrest that was issued against Dariye who is
representing Plateau Central, in 2004, after he jumped bail in London
and ran back to Nigeria to escape being prosecuted, is still valid.
The Met, made the
disclosure at the resumed hearing on a 23-count criminal charge the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against the
former governor before the high court.
The detective that
led a team of Met police officers that arrested Dariye on September 28,
2004, Mr. Peter Clerk, testified before the court yesterday as the ninth
prosecution witness.
Clerk who is now
retired, narrated 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.
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