Nigerian State Governor Dresses Up to Escape £1.8m Charges in Uk

A Nigerian state governor was back in trousers and at his desk yesterday after dressing up as a woman and skipping bail in Britain on charges of laundering £1.8m.

Diepreye Alamieyeseigha returned to his home village a folk hero after apparently escaping Europe in a dress and on a forged passport. Crowds cheered and waved leaves to welcome back the governor of Bayelsa state and a paper, ThisDay, published a photomontage of him in a red dress, necklace, head-dress and lipstick. "Today I am back at my desk, forever committed to serve the people of Bayelsa and Nigeria. I thank the almighty God for his protection," said Mr Alamieyeseigha.

The governor was arrested at Heathrow airport in September and had his passport confiscated. He faced three money-laundering charges after police found £1m in cash at his London address and property in his name worth £10m.

Having returned to Nigeria last weekend - forfeiting a £1.25m bail bond - he is expected to be immune from legal action until his term as governor ends in 2007.

Mr Alamieyeseigha was coy when asked how he evaded British controls to make it back to his village in the Niger delta. "I don't know myself. I just woke up and found myself in Amassoma."

Nigerian newspapers quoted unnamed aides who described a journey in drag. Dressed as a woman, the governor is said to have taken a Eurostar train from London to Paris and then flown to Douala, a port city in Cameroon neighbouring Nigeria, where a speedboat took him home under cover of darkness. The disguise was helped by the fugitive's weight loss during his stay in Europe, which included a tummy tuck operation in Germany.

Thousands lined the streets to cheer his cavalcade through the province but elsewhere several thousand people marched in protest at his return.

The economic and financial crimes commission, part of the federal government's anti-corruption drive, hinted that it would seek to prosecute him. "What I feel bad about is that Nigeria is viewed as a safe haven for people to be protected," said Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the commission's chairman.