Yakubu Gowon, the former Military Head of State has rebuffed claim of stealing half of Central Bank of Nigeria.
Prior to this, the UK parliament debated a petition seeking to impose sanctions on Nigerian Government officials involved in the shooting incident that occurred during the Endsars protest in Lekki on October 20.
During the debate, the Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, a member of the parliament, urged his government to place sanctions on Nigerians who flee to the UK with ill-gotten wealth. He also spoke about Nigeria’s former military ruler, Yakubu Gowon’s alleged looting of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He said;“What we are seeing in Nigeria today is part of that story. It is a tragedy we are all witnessing because we see things falling apart.
“The problem this time is not foreign pressure known as colonialism. The pressure instead is corruption and violence and attempts at control (of power).
“We need to call out the corruption, we need to use the powers that we have in this country to stop those who are profiting from the wealth of that great nation and hiding it here.
“Now some people will remember when general Gowon left Nigeria, he took half of the Central Bank, so it is said, and moved to London.
“We know today, even now in this great city of ours, there are sadly some people who have taken the wealth of Nigerian people and hidden their ill-gotten gains here.
“We know that our banks sadly have been used for that profit or that illegal transfer of asset and that means that the UK is in a unique position in being able to actually do something to really exert pressure on those who have robbed Nigerians.”
In an interview with BBC, Gowon described Tugendhat’s comment as a mere ridicule that was cooked up.
“I don’t want to talk over the matter since those who know me very well say that the MP’s statement is nothing but a mere fallacy,” he said.
The 86-year-old retired general says he served Nigeria diligently.
