Nigeria is unhappy over the UK’s lackluster prosecution of the fugitive former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who fled Nigeria over corruption.
She is supposed to be undergoing prosecution in the UK, her new place of abode since 2015, but slow pace of action from the United Kingdom (UK) on the corruption case has become worrisome.
Mr Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has expressed concern over situation.
EFCC spokesman, Mr Tony Orilade in a statement in Abuja on July 24, 2019, unveiled Magu’s disposition when he received the team of International Criminal Police Organisation (InterPol) in his office.
Magu regreted that the matter had dragged on in the UK for more than four years with no visible result and no end in sight.
“There is the case of Diezani which has been going on for over four years and the amount involved is about 2.4 billion dollars and no kobo has been recovered from overseas.
“Though, we have recovered some of the proceeds of the crime, we are still tracing others,” he said.
Magu, however, noted that the commission’s relationship with InterPol had made it easier to place suspects on red notice.
He disclosed that getting Diezani, Dan Etete, (former petroleum minister), Mohammed Adoke (former attorney general and minister of justice), all of whom are overseas and facing fraud cases in Nigeria, back to the country had been a problem.
He, therefore, urged their new countries of residence to either prosecute them or hand them over to Nigeria “since they are Nigerians.”
According to the statement, InterPol’s Coordinator on Anti-corruption, Mr Sebastian Bley, commended the efforts of the EFCC in the fight against corruption.
“We are fostering our relationship with selected law enforcement agencies in Nigeria because we are doing a set of activities which have been fruitful.
“One area we will need to be stronger is the area of case coordination support,” he said.
