US embassy cable - 02ABUJA1405

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001405 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR INL AND AF 
. 
NSC FOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
. 
JUSTICE FOR OIA, OPDAT AND ICITAP 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2017 
TAGS: PREL, SNAR, CJAN, KCRM, NI 
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH NIGERIA'S NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL 
 
 
REF: ABUJA 729 
 
 
Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter for reasons 1.5 (b) 
and (d). 
 
 
This is an action cable; action request for INL in para 14. 
 
 
1.(C) Summary:  Nigeria's Attorney General, Godwin Kanu 
Agabi, appears comfortable  in his second go-round as the 
country's top law enforcement official. During an April -- 
initial meeting with  Ambassador Jeter, Agabi responded 
positively on all facets on our bilateral law enforcement 
relationship and pledged to build on the progress made by his 
predecessor in strengthening U.S.-Nigerian law enforcement 
cooperation.  End Summary. 
 
 
2.(C) Ambassador Jeter, accompanied by POLCOUNS and RNLEO, 
made an introductory call on Attorney General Godwin Kanu 
Agabi at the Ministry of Justice. Agabi was renamed AG by 
President Obasanjo on March 6, succeeding the late Chief Bola 
Ige, who was assassinated last December.  Agabi was AG from 
June 1999 to June 2000 when he was transferred to the 
Ministry of Solid Minerals. 
 
 
3.(C)  Agabi expressed deep appreciation for U.S. support for 
Nigeria's democratic transition, noting that "you stood with 
us" during the dark days of military rule.  He also thanked 
the U.S. for its assistance on numerous fronts, from judicial 
reform to counter-narcotics, though he called for additional 
assistance to help overcome the atrophy of Nigeria's 
democratic institutions, caused by years of military misrule 
and neglect.  The Ambassador noted the looming challenge of 
conducting free, fair and peaceful elections and the Attorney 
General concurred that the Justice Ministry and security 
services have their work cut out for them.  "There's little 
respect for law" in Nigeria's charged political environment, 
he noted. 
 
 
4.(C) The Ambassador reviewed the diverse range of USG 
assistance efforts in Nigeria, spanning military assistance 
and training, education, health, judicial reform, police 
modernization, counter-narcotics, anti-corruption, and 
fighting trafficking in persons.  He highlighted the fact 
that this is a dramatic increase in assistance to Nigeria and 
noted that, on the law enforcement front, only three years 
ago we had no significant cooperation with the GON. 
 
 
5.(C) The AG acknowledged the US commitment to Nigeria and 
asked the USG and the broader international community to be 
patient as the current regime struggles to cope with myriad 
law enforcement and judicial problems.  "Nigeria's experience 
in emerging from the military years is like a country coming 
out of a war," Agabi explained.  He admitted that corruption 
is a major obstacle to reform, and he also decried the poor 
performance of the National Assembly in passing crucial law 
enforcement legislation.  The AG quipped that "moving 
legislation through the Assembly was like rolling a ball of 
meat through a pack of wolves." 
 
 
Bilateral Agreement and LE Committee 
------------------------------------ 
 
 
6.(C) Recounting the successful first meeting of the 
U.S.-Nigeria Law Enforcement Committee meeting in Washington 
DC last November, the Ambassador highlighted the joint 
declaration signed at the conclusion of those bilateral 
discussions by INL A/S Beers and the late Attorney General 
Chief Bola Ige.  Presenting the new AG with a copy of the 
declaration (which Agabi had been given earlier), the 
Ambassador noted that several of the five GON action items to 
be accomplished before the next meeting of the LE Committee 
have not been addressed.  Agabi expressed his desire to hold 
the next LE Committee meeting as originally scheduled, in May 
2002 in Abuja.  In response, the Ambassador suggested a 
postponement to allow Agabi and his staff time to achieve 
greater progress on the action items of the last meeting's 
declaration.  The AG reiterated his desire for the May 
schedule, noting that "I work best under pressure." 
 
 
7.(C) The USG will soon be prepared to sign a bilateral 
Letter of Agreement (LOA) governing $3.5 million in FY01 law 
enforcement assistance, the Ambassador announced.  This 
assistance would cover several key areas such as Police 
Reform, aid to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency 
(NDLEA) and aid to the police to fight trafficking in 
persons.  A copy of the draft LOA was left with the Minister 
for review, with the caveat that this was still a draft 
subject to change. (Note: two weeks later, Post formally 
transmitted an INL-cleared version of the LOA to the AG for 
his consideration. End Note) 
 
 
8.(C) The Ambassador began reviewing developments and 
outstanding requests in the various areas of bilateral law 
enforcement.  He recounted the provision of almost $500,000 
in counter-narcotics assistance to the NDLEA in 2001 and 
expressed the hope that the Federal government would, in the 
coming budget cycle, give this sole drug control agency the 
resources necessary for effective drug enforcement. Noting 
that the NDLEA falls under his domain as the Justice 
Minister, Agabi responded confidently that the NDLEA's budget 
would be improved. 
419 Fraud Workshop 
------------------ 
 
 
9.(C) Drawing attention to the continued high-visibility 
threat of advance-fee, or "419" fraud committed by Nigerian 
criminals against U.S. citizens, the Ambassador recalled Bola 
Ige's request that the U.S. Secret Service office in Lagos 
sponsor an in-country workshop on 419 fraud to exchange 
information and bring relevant Nigerian law enforcement 
personnel up-to-date on changing techniques of perpetrating 
this form of criminal activity.  The Ambassador stated that 
the USSS stands ready to organize this workshop at the AG's 
direction.  Agabi responded enthusiastically and suggested 
this be scheduled within the next two months. 
Financial Crimes and Money Laundering 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
10.(C) The Ambassador reviewed the recent history of the 
FATF's declaration of Nigeria as a "Non-Cooperation Country 
or Territory (NCCT)" and the GON's delayed response to FATF 
concerns over Nigeria's inadequate money laundering controls. 
 Agabi responded by noting that his office had drafted the 
Financial Crimes Commission Act, which was presented to the 
National Assembly in January and awaits enactment. Similarly, 
the MOJ is drafting revisions to Nigeria's Money Laundering 
law in line with the FATF's recommendations.  The AG 
expressed optimism that the new Financial Crimes Commission 
would improve enforcement efforts against money laundering 
and financial crimes.  He called, however, for U.S. 
assistance to the new Commission, noting that the Federal 
government would not likely provide it with adequate 
resources. 
 
 
Extradition Requests and Workshop 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
11.(SBU) On the subject of extradition requests, Agabi 
immediately conceded that the Nigerian judiciary is infected 
with corruption and  this is the main reason USG requests for 
extradition have failed in the past.  Special, efficient 
extradition courts are need, he declared.  In response to the 
Ambassador's request for an efficient and lawful mechanism to 
handle our extradition requests, Agabi stated that he would 
soon ask President Obasanjo for approval to establish special 
courts for extradition requests and financial crime cases. 
When briefed by the Ambassador on the long-standing proposal 
to have an extradition seminar or exchange in Abuja with MOJ 
prosecutors and judges, the AG stated that he welcomes such 
an exchange that would help his staff of prosecutors.  On a 
specific inquiry from RNLEO concerning a renewed USG 
extradition request for Gabriel Umoh, the AG responded that 
earlier that week he had signed the necessary papers to begin 
the court case against Umoh. 
 
 
Immigration Crimes and INS Visits 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
12.(C) During discussions with USINS officials on November 9 
in Washington, Bola Ige had agreed to host the visit of INS 
officials to discuss modalities of Joint Prisoner 
Repatriation Flights (JPATS), the Ambassador recalled. 
Emphasizing the USG's desire to work with the GON to improve 
coordination on the transfer of prisoners, he asked the 
Attorney General if he was willing to host the visit of INS 
officials, which had been postponed by the tragic murder of 
Bola Ige.  Agabi agreed to a rescheduled visit. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
 
13.(C)  Agabi has taken over the reigns of the Justice 
Ministry and apparently wants to continue the cooperative 
legacy of the late Bola Ige.  He appears accessible, engaging 
and in good command of the various issues in his brief.  He 
has responded to Embassy inquiries in person and made the 
unusual offer to the Ambassador that he would come to the 
Embassy for their next meeting. 
 
 
14.(SBU) Action Request for INL:  Please provide a response 
to the Attorney General's request that the Bilateral LE 
Committee meeting be held in May in Abuja.  If INL proposes a 
postponement until July or August -- with which we would 
concur fully -- we will encourage the AG to produce concrete 
progress on the action items of the November 9 Joint 
Declaration. 
JETER