Dick Cheney is officially a wanted man.
The former vice president was charged by Nigerian officials Tuesday
along with eight other individuals in a bribery and conspiracy scheme
over the construction of a liquefied natural gas facility in the country
that took place while Cheney was chief executive of Halliburton.
Halliburton
and its one-time subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR),
were also charged.
KBR, which also has handled lucrative US government support contracts for US troops in Iraq and elsewhere,
was spun off from Halliburton in 2007 into a separate company.
“It includes Dick Cheney,” said Nigerian prosecutor Godwin Obla, about the 16-count charge filed in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
“There are conspiracy charges and giving gratification to public officers.
There is also a charge for obstruction of justice …
It is important to stress that the filing of this charge today is just one out of many steps that would be taken by the prosecution.”