HC Deb 08 November 1950 vol 480 c64W
93. Mr. Sorensen

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has reconsidered the claim of Chief H. Jim Ja Ja and others to the return to them of the £1,000 deposited with the British Government in 1889 by the then Opobo Chiefs as security; why this was transferred to the Oil Rivers Protectorate for payment to Messrs. Miller Brothers, and only the interest of £65 11s. paid to the Chiefs; and, in particular, why the descendants of the Chiefs are not paid compound interest on the original sum.

Mr. Dugdale

On present information it appears that this sum was deposited not by the Chiefs but by Messrs. Miller Bros. on their behalf, and that repayment to the firm was authorised in 1892. The claim raised recently is, however, still under investigation as far as surviving records permit.