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| Earlier today, the tragic news broke that Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, a former governor of Bayelsa state, has died. |
prominent Nigerian politician.
1. Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was born on November 16, 1952
in Amassoma, Ogboin North local government area
of Bayelsa state.
2. He was popularly known as “Governor-General of Ijaw
Nation”.
3. He attended the Bishop Dimeari Grammar School in
Yenagoa. He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy as a
cadet officer in 1974, then joined the Nigerian Air Force,
where he served in the department of Logistics and Supply.
4. He held various air force positions in Enugu, Markurdi,
Kaduna and Ikeja. Alamieyeseigha retired from the air force
in 1992 as a Squadron Leader.
5. Alamieyeseigha was elected governor of Bayelsa state in
May 1999 as a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party. He was re-elected in 2003.
6. Alamieyeseigha was detained in London, the UK, on
charges of money laundering in September 2005. At the
time of his arrest, Metropolitan police found about £1m in
cash in his London home. Later they found a total of £1.8m
in cash and bank accounts. He has been found to own real
estate in London worth an alleged £10 million
7. He jumped bail in December 2005 from the UK by
allegedly disguising himself as a woman, though
Alamieyeseigha denied this claim.
8. On July 26, 2007, Alamieyeseigha pleaded guilty before a
Nigerian court and was sentenced to two years in prison.
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 and on July 27 he was
released.
9. On 12 March 2013, Alamieyeseigha was pardoned by
President Goodluck Jonathan.
10. He was expected to lead the re-election campaign of
Governor Seriake Dickson ahead of the December 5
governorship election in Bayelsa state.
