Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says he has no need for an apology, but demanded the return of oil stolen from Nigeria and stashed in London.
The President of Nigeria says he doesn’t David Cameron to say sorry for calling his country ‘fantastically corrupt’ in front of the Queen – but
he wants his country’s assets back.
President Muhammadu Buhari says he has no need for an apology, but demanded the return of assets – such as stolen oil – stashed in the UK and Crown territories.
He told the PM’s anti-corruption summit Nigerian oil was being stolen “on an industrial scale” and was often funnelled through global financial centres, including London.
He said: “What would I do with an apology? I need something tangible. I am not going to demand
any apology from anyone. What I am demanding is a return of assets.”
He called for a multi-state agency to be created to tackle the “hydra-headed menace of corruption.”
Cabinet Office Minister Matt Hancock agreed, admitting the British government had been slow
to address the issue, but was currently focused on creating an open register of beneficial ownership.
Mr Buhari added: “Unfortunately, repatriatingbstolen assets is tedious, time-consuming, costly.
It entails more than just signing of bilateral agreements.”
Yesterday, bungling David Cameron embarrassednhimself in front of the Queen when he boasted some “fantastically corrupt” countries were coming to the summit, and mentioned Nigeria by name.
Speaking earlier in the day, Mr Buhari’s spokesman said the country was “embarrassed” by the Prime Minister’s comments.
He said: “This is embarrassing to us, to us say the least, given the good work that the President is doing. The eyes of the world are on what is happening here. The Prime Minister must be looking at an old snapshot of Nigeria. Things are
changing with corruption and everything else”
