Judge Signing on the Papers. Representational Image.
Judge Signing on the Papers. Representational Image. IBTimes NG

Lateef Fagbemi, the attorney general and the minister of justice, has denied reports that a United States District Court allowed Louis E. Williams, a British-Nigerian businessman, to retrieve $21 million from Nigeria's account with JP Morgan.

Williams had reportedly claimed the money from the country's JP Morgan account as compensation for allegedly being abused and defrauded by Nigeria's domestic intelligence office in the 1980s.

The ministry on Wednesday criticized the reports -- circulated online by several media platforms -- for not seeking a response from the department. Fagbemi also challenged the media outlets to provide a copy of any U.S. court order related to the supposed seizure.

The ministry's statement said that the U.S. District Court had not authorized any seizure of Nigerian government funds, and added they wanted to correct inaccurate reports by Peoples Gazette and several others.

"The ministry hereby clarifies that at no time did the US District Court authorize the seizure of funds belonging to the Nigerian government in the custody of JP Morgan. The court only refused Nigeria's preliminary motion to dismiss the complaint against it on the ground of sovereign immunity," the statement mentioned, Punch reported.

"None of the media outlets that syndicated the story sought the reaction of the Nigerian government," the statement added.

The justice ministry stated that the ruling made on Aug. 21 meant the case will now move to a full hearing where both sides must present evidence and legal arguments before the court makes a final decision.

The ministry also noted that Nigeria had filed an appeal against this preliminary decision. Nigeria has taken strong legal action in both U.K. and U.S. courts against Williams' claims. The department said it was confident that Williams' attempts to pressure the Nigerian government will ultimately fail.

"Nigeria has launched robust legal defences/challenges in the UK and US courts against Williams' claims, including by launching proceedings against him for fraud and therefore remains quite confident and optimistic that his attempts to strong-arm the Nigerian government will come to nought," the statement further read.