Diepreye Alamieyeseigha

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Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha (right) with U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Howard F. Jeter (left), July 6, 2001

Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha ("DSP") (born 16 November 1952) was governor of Bayelsa State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 9 December 2005.

He was detained in London on charges of money laundering in September 2005.^[1] Metropolitan Police officers allegedly found £1 million cash at one of his many London homes. He has been found to own real estate in London worth an alleged £10 million. His state's monthly federal allocation for the last six years has been in the order of £32 million.^{[citation needed]}

He jumped bail in December 2005 from the United Kingdom by allegedly disguising himself as a woman, though he denies this claim. He was suspended from the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) in early December 2005 before being impeached by the Bayelsa State Assembly on 9 December. He was replaced by his Deputy Governor Goodluck Jonathan.

On July 26, 2007, Alamieyeseigha pleaded guilty before a Nigerian court to six charges and was sentenced to two years in prison on each charge; however, because the sentences were set to run concurrently and the time was counted from the point of his arrest nearly two years before the sentences, his actual sentence was relatively short. Many of his assets were also ordered to be forfeited to the Bayelsa state government. According to Alamieyeseigha, he only pleaded guilty due to his age and would have fought the charges if he was younger.^[2] On July 27, just hours after being taken to prison, he was released due to time already served.^[1]

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[edit] References

^ ^a ^b "Former Nigerian state governor freed a day after corruption conviction", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), July 28, 2007.
^ Adesina Aiyekoti, "Corruption: Alamieyeseigha pleads guilty, bags 12 years jail term", Daily Sun (Nigeria), July 27, 2007.

v • d • e Governors of Bayelsa State

Oladipo Phillips Ayeni † • Habu Daura † • Omoniyi Caleb Olubolade † • Paul Obi † • Diepreye Alamieyeseigha • Goodluck Jonathan • Timipre Sylva † Administrator under the military government