Nigeria hunts runaway ex-petroleum minister

Few hours after a Nigerian court ordered the arraignment of runaway former petroleum minister, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked the United Kingdom to extradite former Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Diezani and some of her accomplices are based in London, facing a probe by an anti-graft agency and the EFCC only recently began to explore the possibility of extraditing them to Nigeria.

The Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, said during an interactive session the civil society in Lagos on Tuesday that the anti-graft agency had already contacted the Britain on the issue.

According to him, the commission has secured a number of temporary and permanent forfeiture of property and various sums of money unlawfully acquired by persons of questionable character.

The Federal High Court on Tuesday ordered EFCC, Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force to produce within 72 hours, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Justice Valentine Ashi of a Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting in Apo, Abuja, on December 4, 2018, perhaps oblivious of this, ordered all the security agencies to apprehend and arrest Diezani within 72 hours.

The order was made, following a motion ex parte moved by counsel to the EFCC, Msuur Denga, praying for an order of the court, to issue a warrant of arrest against Madueke, to enable the Commission apprehend and arraign her for alleged financial crimes in Nigeria.

The EFCC investigated the former minister along with Jide Omokore, a former Chairman, Atlantic Energy Drilling Company, following a petition dated October 2, 2013, from Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, bordering on money laundering and official corruption.

Investigations into the petition revealed that Madueke as supervising minister of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, was found to have engaged in illicit and monumental fraudulent dealings in oil transactions, which she entered into on behalf of the Federal Government.

Madueke and Omokore, are also alleged to have accepted and given gifts in properties located at Penthouse 22, Block B, Admiralty Estate, Ikoyi, and Penthouse 21, Building 5, Block C, Banana Island, Lagos.

They are to be arraigned on February 25, 2019 on a five-count charge for the offences, which are contrary to Sections 26(1) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

When the matter came up the Commission filed an application for warrant of arrest, condition precedent for Deziani’s extradition protocol to bring her back home to face trail.

The prosecution told the court that Diezani, who is currently in the United Kingdom, jetted out of the country while investigations into the alleged fraudulent acts were ongoing.

The court today, granted the ex parte motion, and ordered the security agencies to provide Madueke within 72 hours, for her to face the charge preferred against her.