We have been inundated with requests for updates about the seizure in Canada on May 30 of a luxury private jet bought by former oil minister Dan Etete with some of the alleged proceeds of the notorious $1.3 billion OPL245 oil deal. A THREAD:
In case you missed it, here's the original story which we co-published with our partners @PremiumTimesng: financeuncovered.org/investigations…
We have been trying to get an update for you, the public, from #Nigeria’s asset recovery team, represented by UK PR firm @montfortlondon. Unfortunately they, and others in the team, have chosen to ignore our enquiries entirely. They aren’t even returning calls.
Blanking our enquiries now may be because they threatened in April to stop providing information to us and @PremiumTimesng if we published a story that identified the asset recovery team. But we insisted that Nigerians SHOULD know who is recovering their country’s loot.
Here's the story we did with our partner @PremiumTimesng premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines…
Clearly, they weren’t very happy about it. But while @montfortlondon and co have no obligation to answer our questions, particularly if matters are before court, there is a hunger and a desire among the public for more information about the recovery of #Nigeria’s looted assets.
So we say to @montfortlondon and the Nigerian asset recovery team, including their US funder Drumcliffe: do the right thing, and be open with the media whose job it is to report the facts to the public whose assets you are recovering.
Surely, as a PR firm, @montfortlondon must know that transparency and good comms is the best antidote to corruption. This is public money after all. [ENDS]
