A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Wahab Shittu, has cited the complex legal processes involved in extradition as the main reason for the Nigerian government’s inability to adequately prosecute former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who has been absent from the country for over eight years.
Alison-Madueke, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan, is accused of embezzling millions of dollars of Nigerian state funds during her tenure.
She has remained in the United Kingdom since the end of Jonathan’s administration, where she has not been able to appear in Nigerian courts for the cases filed against her.
Shittu, appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, explained that extraditing someone who has fled to another country involves stringent legal and international procedures.
These procedures must be met before an individual can be brought back to Nigeria for trial.
He stated, “The extradition procedures of getting somebody who has taken flight from one country to another involve legal compliance procedures that must be satisfied before somebody can be extradited back to Nigeria. There are judicial and administrative international procedures to comply with.”
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Shittu added that despite these hurdles, efforts are being made by successive Nigerian governments, particularly the current administration, to ensure that individuals like Alison-Madueke are extradited to face justice in Nigeria.
In related news, the federal government recently received $52.88 million in recovered assets linked to Alison-Madueke from the United States. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, announced the receipt of these assets during a formal signing ceremony in Abuja on Friday.
Fagbemi disclosed that $50 million of the recovered assets would be used for rural electrification through the World Bank, while the remaining $2 million would be allocated to the International Institute of Justice to enhance Nigeria’s justice system and combat corruption.
