Former governor of Bayelsa State DSP Alamieyeseigha was reported dead on Saturday. He was said to have slipped into a coma two days earlier.
Since the announcement of his death, questions are being asked: Was it a case of hypertension? Suicide? Or did he have a heart attack?
British authorities recently requested his extradition to answer questions on money laundering allegations, and the Nigerian government was reportedly eager to grant the request.
But family sources have hinted that the “governor-general of the Niger Delta” had problems with his kidneys — possibly a complication of diabetes he’s suffering from.
Alamieyeseigha was governor of Bayelsa State from May 29, 1999, to December 9, 2005, when he was impeached; he had been arrested in London but he escaped, according to then EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu, disguised as a woman. His impeachment over alleged corruption paved the way for his deputy, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, to become governor, and later vice president and subsequently president of Nigeria.
President Jonathan granted him state pardon in 2014.
His death, at age 63, is likely to dominate conversations among Nigerians for the next week or two.
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