Diezani risks jail in UK on police suspicion she collected bribes in multi-million-pound contracts
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former Petroleum Minister, has been charged with bribery offences in the United Kingdom, with the police saying they suspect she grabbed bribes in return for awarding oil and gas contracts worth millions of pounds.
Diezani, 63, who served in the administration former President Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 to 2015, reportedly has a sister who allegedly has children for Jonathan – whose wife, Patience, is reportedly childless – and Diezani allegedly abused that closeness to Jonathan to get away with incredible corruption while in office in Abuja.
She also served as President of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Diezani left Nigeria shortly after leaving office in 2015.
She has been on bail in the UK since 2015 and Nigeria’s graft buster, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been investigating her since she left office and has used court orders to confiscate some of her properties at home.
“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,” Andy Kelly, Head of UK National Crime Agency’s International Corruption Unit, told Reuters.
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Corruption allegations against Diezani
The NCA said Diezani is accused of benefitting 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.
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, according to the NCA, per reporting by The PUNCH.
British police said she is currently living in St John’s Wood, an upmarket area of West London, and would appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 2 October 2023.
Diezani has denied allegations of corruption but the Abuja Federal High Court in October 2022 ordered the final forfeiture to the federal government of two her Abuja properties and two luxury cars.
The two properties, valued at $2,674,418 and N380 million, are located at Plot 1854 Mohammed Mahashir Street and No. 6, Aso Drive in Abuja’s highbrow Asokoro and Maitama Districts.
The luxury cars are a black BMW with chassis number B8CV54V66629 and registration number RBC155 DH and a black Jaguar with chassis number SAJAA 20 GRDMv43376, valued at N36 million.
Court order of assets forfeiture
The judge gave the order forfeiting of the assets to the federal government while ruling on the application by the EFCC asking for the final forfeiture of the assets.
The EFCC disclosed in a statement that it secured the interim forfeiture order on 29 November 2021 on the grounds of reasonable suspicion they are proceeds of unlawful activities.
“In granting the interim forfeiture order, Justice Olajuwon had ordered the EFCC to publish a notice in a national newspaper, inviting anyone with an interest in the assets to show the reason why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“The court consequently adjourned till January 22, 2022, for a report,” the statement said.
However, in May 2023, Diezani instituted a suit against the EFCC and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation over alleged false and malicious attempt to “paint her as a common criminal.”
The case, filed in the Abuja Federal High Court, was instituted on her behalf by a team of lawyers led by Mike Ozekhome, SAN.
Diezani requested N100 million damages for the “false accusations and publications” written against her by the EFCC.
She also asked that the EFCC apologise to her in at least three national dailies for the “injurious damage to her reputation.”
The EFCC on 8 August 2017 published an expose titled, ‘EFCC traces N47.2bn, $487.5m to ex-Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke’, accusing her of fraud and money laundering.
After the publication, several other sums of money and assets, including jewellery and houses, linked to Diezani were seized and forfeited to the federal government.
Diezani denies allegations
But she denied the allegations in her suit against the EFCC and AGF, arguing the publication by the EFCC was “maliciously written and authored and/or caused to be written, authored or published to the whole world at large.”
A statement she issued through Ozekhome said the reason she left the country on 22 May 2015 was because she was diagnosed with “the most aggressive form of breast cancer – Triple Negative Cancer – and was hurriedly flown to England in order to undertake a critical course of treatment.
“No money whatsoever to the tune of $72.8 million associated to her was discovered in Fidelity Bank.
“Contrary to the ridiculous allegation made by the 1st defendant that the sum of N47.2 bn, $487.5 m, $2.5 bn, $72.8 m, etc, were traced to the claimant’s home and bank accounts are laughable as no home can house such an amount of cash except for the Central Bank of Nigeria; nor banks keep custody of such sums without alerting appropriate authorities.”