Nigerian Government piles on impeachment pressure

YENAGOA - Politicians from Nigeria's Bayelsa state are pressing ahead with the impeachment of their Governor, wanted by British police on money-laundering charges.

Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha fled charges that he laundered 1.8 million ($4.45 million) in London, returning last week to Nigeria, where he enjoys immunity while in office.

The federal Government has piled pressure on the state to impeach him, deploying hundreds of troops to the region, cutting off access to funds and arresting the state accountant.

A group of 15 politicians supporting the impeachment were taken under military escort to the assembly where they resolved to suspend four opponents for bringing it into disrepute.

Nine members who back the Governor complained they were prevented by troops from entering the heavily guarded complex.

The pro-impeachment politicians also instructed the judiciary to investigate the charges against Alamieyeseigha, which include money laundering, embezzlement, holding illegal foreign bank accounts, corruptly enriching his family and lying about his wealth.

"The impeachment proceedings against the Governor remain on course. The law will take its course," said House Speaker Peremobowei Ebebi after the 40-minute session.

The impeachment bill requires 16 of the 24 assembly members to support it, and Alamieyeseigha still commands the support of nine.

Alamieyeseigha has accused the federal Government of persecuting him because of his ethnic Ijaw origin and of trying to provoke violence as a pretext to impose a state of emergency, which would strip him of his powers.

The Ijaw are the dominant ethnic group in the Niger Delta, which pumps all of Nigeria's 2.4 million barrels a day, but only the fourth-largest in Africa's most populous country.

Bayelsa accounts for a quarter of Nigerian oil output.

- REUTERS