UK court grants Diezani £70,000 bail, as EFCC commences extradition proceedings
The Westminster Magistrates Court in the United Kingdom has granted the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke a £70,000 bail.
The former Minister appeared before the court on Monday, over an alleged £100,000 bribe.
Snow further imposed other terms on Alison-Madueke including an 11 pm to 6 am curfew, an electronic tag to be worn by her at all times and a £70,000 surety to be paid before she could leave the court building.
During her appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court, she provided her name, date of birth, and address.
Although she did not formally enter a plea, her attorney, Mark Bowen, informed the court that she would plead not guilty, Reuters reported.
Her next court appearance will be at Southwark Crown Court, which deals with serious criminal cases, on October 30.
It was gathered that in August, the UK’s National Crime Agency said it suspected Diezani had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.
In a statement published on its website, NCA said Diezani “is alleged to have benefitted from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
“Her charges 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.”
In March 2023, the NCA also provided evidence to the US Department of justice that enabled them to recover assets totalling USD 53.1 million linked to Diezan’s alleged corruption.
Head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly said the “charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation. Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries. We will continue towork with partners here and overseas to tackle the threat,” Kelly added.
In October 2015, Diezani and four other persons were arrested in the UK over alleged bribery and money laundering offences.
A magistrate court in the UK granted Diezani bail but her passport was seized while she was asked to report at the Charing Cross police station.
Diezani was the minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Shortly before Jonathan handed over to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, she left the country.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alleged that the former minister stole $2.5 billion from the Nigerian government while she was a minister.
The EFCC Acting spokesman, Dele Oyewale has however revealed on Monday that the Commission has secured an arrest warrant for former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The EFCC spokesperson stated, “It is instructive to note that criminality is criminality, irrespective of jurisdictional differences. No crime can go unpunished.”
“The money laundering charges for which Madueke is answerable to the EFCC cover jurisdictions in Dubai, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Nigeria.”
“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 added.
