The Federal Government may soon issue a warrant for the arrest of a former United States Vice-President, Mr. Dick Cheney, Bloomberg.com reports.

The prosecuting lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Godwin Obla, told Bloomberg in an interview in Abuja on Thursday that the indictment would be lodged in a Nigerian court in the next three days.

He said, “An arrest warrant for Cheney will be issued and transmitted through Interpol,” the world’s biggest international police organisation.”

Cheney’s spokesman, Peter Long, said he couldn’t immediately comment when contacted today and said he would respond later to an e-mailed request for comment.

Obla said charges would be filed against current and former chief executive officers of Halliburton, including Cheney, who was CEO from 1995 to 2000, and its former unit KBR Inc. based in Houston, Texas; Technip, Europe’s second largest oilfield services provider; Eni SpA, Italy’s biggest oil company; and Saipem Construction Co., a unit of Eni.

Obla didn’t identify the former officials whom he said held office when the alleged bribes were paid.

Last week, EFCC operatives arrested at least 23 officials from companies including Halliburton, Saipem, Technip and a former subsidiary of Panalpina Welttransport Holding AG in connection with alleged illegal payments to Nigerian officials. Those detained were all freed on bail on November 29.

Authorities in the West African nation are probing Halliburton, Saipem and Technip for the alleged payment of $180m in bribes to win a $6bn Liquefied Natural Gas contract. Panalpina is being investigated for illegal payments it allegedly made to Nigerian customs officials on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

“Eni confirms its availability to cooperate with the local authorities in the ongoing investigations, as it has done in the past with Italian and US authorities,” Gianni Di Giovanni, spokesman for the company, said in an emailed statement today.

Christophe Bélorgeot, who is listed on Technip’s website as a spokesman for the company, didn’t answer his phone when called today. No one answered the phone at Halliburton’s Nigerian office when called for comment. A person who answered a call to Halliburton’s Houston office said no one was available to comment. Teresa Wong, Halliburton’s spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Heather Browne, a spokeswoman for KBR, said by e-mail the company has no comment.

Cheney, 69, left Halliburton in 2000 to become US President George W. Bush’s running mate and then vice president. He formed the company’s KBR Inc. unit after acquiring Dresser Industries Inc. in 1998.

The EFCC arraigned a former aide of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju, on six counts of money laundering on October 13 in connection with the alleged payment of bribes.

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