The minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, speaking with state house correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, says the government did not know that the United States was listening to the telephone conversations of members of the Jonathan administration.

Highlights:

• An indicting telephone conversation between the former minister petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, and her associates; Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore – was leaked in July. Alison-Madueke was heard scolding Mr Aluko for being too extravagant and showy, warning that he was attracting attention and scrutiny.
• The US government had seized some pieces of property linked to Alison-Madueke and her associates in the country.
• Onyeama said the government was making effort to recover stolen funds in foreign bases.
• …nobody knew about all those funds illegally stashed until you suddenly have the revelations under the Panama papers. So it’s really an ongoing thing and then new ones coming up all the time.
• As you saw recently we never knew about the US eavesdropping on some telephone conversations of members of the previous government and private sectors talking about investments that were made in the United States, it just suddenly came out like that, so it’s an ongoing thing.