A Nigerian state governor who was briefly detained a week ago in London by British police for alleged money laundering has declared himself innocent, saying his arrest was "overtly political."

Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of the oil-rich Bayelsa state in southern Nigeria was arrested on Sept. 15 by London's Metropolitan Police but was then released on bail.

Nigeria's anti-graft Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) later said it had been informed of the arrest which was believed to be in connection with an investigation of allegations of money laundering.

"The governor was interviewed by officers of the Metropolitan Police and released without charge ... and indeed is innocent of any wrongdoing," Alamieyeseigha rebutted in a statement published in Nigeria's The Guardian newspaper on Sunday.

"The British police say they have been investigating the governor since March 2005. Yet despite 6 months of investigation ... no allegation of any criminal conduct has been made in Britain or elsewhere against the governor," the statement said.

"The governor is surprised and disappointed that the British government through the Metropolitan police has allowed itself to be used as a tool in furtherance of the federal government's overtly political objectives."

Alamieyeseigha is the self-styled "Governor-General of the Ijaw Nation." His arrest sparked a threat to attack Britons and British oil firms in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta from a major local ethic group, the Ijaw Youth Council, which described it as "a conspiracy" between the British authorities and Nigerian government.

Alamieyeseigha said he had immunity from prosecution in Nigeria and in Britain but had not done so.

"The British government has acted unlawfully and improperly and in a neo-colonialist and bigoted manner," he said in the statement.

Alamieyeseigha is the second Nigerian governor to be arrested in London over alleged money laundering in the past one year. Last year, Governor Joshua Dariye of the central Plateau state was also arrested in London but was then released on bail.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo intensified its fight against corruption this year, which saw two ministers and his police chief sacked. But generally, the anti-graft drive has yielded little results so far.

Source: Xinhua