‘It’s rubbish’ — Gowon reacts to accusation of looting half of central bank

Yakubu Gowon, a former military head of state, has described allegations that he looted half of the Central Bank of Nigeria as “rubbish”.

Tom Tugendhat, a member of the United Kingdom parliament, had accused Gowon of looting Nigeria’s treasury when he left office.

Speaking at the UK parliament committee debate on a petition on the #EndSARS crisis, Tugendhat had urged the UK to call out corruption and use its powers to stop who profit from Nigeria’s wealth and hide it in foreign countries.

“Some people will remember when General Gowon left Nigeria with half of the Central Bank, so it is said, and moved to London,” he said.

However, Tugendhat did not provide any evidence to support his claim.

In reaction to the remark, Gowon told BBC: “I don’t know where he got that rubbish from, I served Nigeria diligently and my records are there for all to see”.

“What the MP said was just mere ridicule and I don’t know as to where he cooked up such statement. I served Nigeria as much as I could and my achievements during those years are available to everyone.

“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”.

Gowon was Nigeria’s military head of state from 1966 to 1975, including during the time of the oil boom.

After leaving power in 1975, Gowon went to the UK to study political science and international relations as an undergraduate at Warwick University.

Several people including Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), have reacted to the claim vouching for Gowon’s integrity.

“What the MP said is rubbish. I don’t know where he got that rubbish from, I served Nigeria diligently and my records are there for all to see.

I did not want to speak on this issue because people that know me know that what the MP said is not true''

sodiqapril:
Anything they said he did..he did worse..that man supervised the killing of Igbos in delta

sodiqapril:
Anything they said he did..he did worse..that man supervised the killing of Igbos in delta

HandmadeD:
Then his lawyer should file a Law suit against the Mp. To clear his conscience

sodiqapril:
Anything they said he did..he did worse..that man supervised the killing of Igbos in delta

omenka:
Not one to be swayed by the mob and wont subscribe to mob mentality. It behooves on he that accuses to prove beyond doubt his accusation.

Where is the evidence Gowon did that? Or am I supposed to swallow what the MP said because he is an MP and British?

sodiqapril:
What's with Nigerians and defending wicked leaders, ten years from now,you'll people will describe buhari as a legend and of the best things that happened to Nigeria. Under Gowon's command, a Red Cross plane carrying powdered milk & dry fish for starving children was shot down in 1969.

He perpetrated a blockade that condemned over a million Igbo children to death by starvation & you put "decency" in the same sentence with him?
This crude & blatant revisionism of history has to stop biko

Gowon is a war criminal, he didn't stop at victory, he sought humiliation, he had no rules of engagement, he was an extremely cruel man. No sugarcoating it.

Secession may be a crime but the punishment is not genocide

TimeManager:

Ojukwu is the worst war criminal ever. He diverted food supplies & aids meant for the biafran civilians to his camps, leaving the people to starve to death.

kiss the truth!

uptimum123:
He's one of the most honest and responsible elder statesman in Nigeria.

The member of the parliament in UK who said he stole half of CBN is just chasing clout and relevancy in the Nigerian space and only the ipob people will give him that.

sodiqapril:
What's with Nigerians and defending wicked leaders, ten years from now,you'll people will describe buhari as a legend and of the best things that happened to Nigeria. Under Gowon's command, a Red Cross plane carrying powdered milk & dry fish for starving children was shot down in 1969.

He perpetrated a blockade that condemned over a million Igbo children to death by starvation & you put "decency" in the same sentence with him?
This crude & blatant revisionism of history has to stop biko

Gowon is a war criminal, he didn't stop at victory, he sought humiliation, he had no rules of engagement, he was an extremely cruel man. No sugarcoating it.

Secession may be a crime but the punishment is not genocide