The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, said it has obtained an arrest warrant and has also commenced extradition proceedings against a former minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The Commission added that it was satisfied with the arraignment of the former minister at the Westminister’s Court in London, United Kingdom, following alleged bribery allegations.
Acting EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, who made the declaration in a statement, said: “To bring the former Minister to trial in Nigeria, an arrest warrant has been obtained and extradition proceedings have been initiated. The Commission is on course on her trial. She will soon have her day in our courts.”
He said though the charges preferred against her at the London court are “diametrically different from the 13-count charges bordering on money laundering the EFCC has raised against her, it is instructive to note that criminality is criminality, irrespective of jurisdictional differences.”
He said no “crime can go unpunished. The money laundering charges for which Madueke is answerable to the EFCC, cover jurisdictions in Dubai, United Kingdom, United States of America and Nigeria.”
The former minister, late Monday morning, October 2, 2023 appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London to answer to charges of bribery.
She had on August 22 been charged to court by the United Kingdom (UK) government over an alleged £100,000 bribe. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said they suspected Diezani had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.
British police say they suspect she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pounds oil and gas contracts, Reuters reported.
“We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.
“These charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation,” said Andy Kelly, Head of the National Crime Agency’s International Corruption Unit.
The NCA said Alison-Madueke was accused of benefitting from at least 100,000 pounds in cash, chauffeur driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
Charges against her also detail financial rewards including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods, the NCA said.
British police say she is currently living in St John’s Wood, an upmarket area of West London.
Alison-Madueke, 63, was a key figure in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, serving as petroleum resources minister from 2010 to 2015.
She also served as president of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
