Records tie Nigerian official to Jefferson bribe probe

GREENBELT, Md. -- Nigeria's vice president sought as much as $500,000 and a stake in a technology venture in his country, Representative William Jefferson told an FBI informant, according to court documents filed in a bribery probe of the congressman.

Jefferson is alleged to have told the informant that he had delivered ``African art," which authorities believe was code for cash, to the Potomac, Md., home of the wife of Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar last July 31.

Details of the alleged deal were included in an affidavit filed in August in US District Court to secure a warrant to search Abubakar's house in Potomac. The affidavit was unsealed Monday by the federal court in Greenbelt.

The affidavit says the money was delivered shortly after Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, received $100,000 in cash from the FBI informant that was supposed to smooth the way for a telecommunications company, iGate Inc., to conduct business in Nigeria.

It is unclear whether any of that money was delivered to the vice president's home, and his possible role is described only by Jefferson in wiretaps the FBI made.

The 39-page affidavit released Monday in Maryland, some sections of which remain sealed, does not mention Abubakar by name. But it does identify the Potomac home as the residence of Jennifer Douglas, Abubakar's wife. It also refers to ``the vice president of Nigeria" when detailing the alleged scheme. Although the search of the Potomac residence was mentioned in documents previously released by the courts, names and titles were blacked out to keep them secret.

Jefferson has denied wrongdoing.

An attorney for Abubakar, Edward L. Weidenfeld, said the vice president was cooperating with authorities.

``There is no relationship or any kind of arrangement of any sort between them," Weidenfeld said of his client and Jefferson.