U.S. court grants Nigeria’s plea to depose businessman tortured by SSS after $21 million award

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A U.S. court has granted Nigeria’s request to depose Louis Emovbira William, a businessman who claims he was wrongfully tortured and imprisoned by the State Security Service (SSS) in 1986. Mr. William had secured a court order to seize $21 million from Nigeria’s JP Morgan account as compensation for his ordeal.

Justice Lewis Liman of the U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York approved Nigeria’s plea on October 8, 2024, allowing them to question Mr. William about the circumstances surrounding his imprisonment. The deposition is scheduled to take place in London between December 17 and 19, just before the court’s December 20 deadline, taking into account Mr. William’s deteriorating health.

The judge set clear deadlines for the deposition process: Nigeria must request relevant documents by October 22, and Mr. William must respond by November 5. The parties agreed on a 12-hour deposition over three days, with the session being videotaped and attended by a court reporter. Travel and accommodation costs will be borne by the parties involved.

Mr. William, a UK-Nigerian businessman, claims he was defrauded of $6.5 million by the Nigerian government over a failed food importation deal in the 1980s. He was imprisoned in Nigeria for “economic sabotage” in 1986 and escaped in 1989 after receiving a presidential pardon from military dictator Ibrahim Babangida. Despite the pardon and a Fidelity Guarantee contract awarded to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) delayed releasing his funds, leading to prolonged litigation.

In 2018, a UK court awarded Mr. William $21.2 million, which he sought to enforce in the U.S. However, Nigeria has resisted the judgment, and the upcoming deposition will likely influence the country’s next legal steps.

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