Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday urged Britain to return assets stolen by corrupt officials in pointed remarks after Prime Minister David Cameron called his country "fantastically corrupt". "I am not going to demand any apology from anybody. What I am demanding is the return of the assets," Buhari told an anti-corruption event in London. He noted the case of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, a former governor of oil-rich Bayelsa state who was detained in London on charges of money laundering in 2005, but skipped bail by disguising himself as a woman.
Alamieyeseigha, who died in Nigeria in October, left behind "his bank account and fixed assets, which Britain is prepared to hand over to us. This is what I'm asking for", Buhari said. "What would I do with an apology? I need something tangible," he said at the event organised by the Commonwealth secretariat. Cameron was asked during a parliamentary debate about measures to clamp down on corruption, particularly in the London property market.
"Action is necessary by developed countries as well as developing countries," he said. "The steps we are taking to make sure that foreign companies that own UK property have to declare who the beneficial owner is will be one of the ways we make sure that plundered money from African countries can't be hidden in London." He also joked about his unguarded comments, telling MPs that "tips on diplomacy are useful, given the last 24 hours" and quipped that "first of all I had better check the microphone is on before speaking".
Cameron is hosting a major anti-corruption summit on Thursday, which Buhari is attending alongside Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Ahead of the talks, Cameron was caught on camera telling Queen Elizabeth II that the leaders of some "fantastically corrupt" countries were attending, adding that Nigeria and Afghanistan were "possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world". A spokesman for Buhari said the comments were "embarrassing" and reflected "an old snapshot of Nigeria".
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