British Crime Agency Arrests Diezani Alison-Madueke

• Granted Bail • EFCC Raids Her Abuja Home

FORMER minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who was arrested in London yesterday by the United Kingdom (UK) National Crime Agency (NCA), was last night granted bail by a magistrate Court in London.

She will remain on bail until the court fixes the hearing date for the case.

The former minister, who was one of the most influential cabinet members of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, was reportedly picked up along with four others by the United Kingdom (UK) National Crime Agency (NCA).

Information about the arrest was terse. In a 27-word statement in its website, the agency said simply: “The National Crime Agency’s recently formed International Corruption Unit has arrested five people across London as part of an investigation into suspected bribery and money laundering offences.”

The identities of the four other suspects could not be ascertained at press time.

The agency does not give the name of suspects it is holding nor does it publicly give details of their alleged offences.

Two top British officials in London confirmed the development to an online newspaper, but requested not to be named because they had no permission to speak on the issue.

In Nigeria, the British High Commission also told the news media that some arrests were made yesterday, but declined to disclose the identities of those involved.

Its Press and Public Affairs Officer, Joseph Abuku, said: “This morning, five people between the ages of 21 and 60 were arrested on suspicion of bribery and corruption offences. The crimes are being investigated by the National Crime Agency.

“The National Crime Agency does not confirm identity at arrest nor provide information that could be used to corroborate the identity of an arrested individual.”

It is not clear whether Mrs. Allison-Madueke was arrested at the request of the Nigerian government, but President Muhammadu Buhari had less than a week ago said that those who misappropriated billions of naira belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would soon be prosecuted.

The President said at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in New York that his administration was determined to fully sanitise Nigeria’s oil industry and make it totally free of corruption and shady deals.

He did not state how soon the prosecutions would start or if indeed investigations had been concluded and whether culpable individuals had been identified.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke had been out of the country since Buhari assumed office.

Some reports said yesterday that she would be repartriated to Nigeria to face corruption charges leveled against her.

In what looked like a coordinated action, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was also reported to have raided Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s Asokoro, Abuja home yesterday, ostensibly as part of the investigation.

A source confided in The Guardian that her residence was being searched for evidence in connection with alleged corruption, bribery and money laundering offence for which the former minister was arrested by the UK agency.

The source, while confirming that EFCC operatives were spotted in the building, added that the anti-graft agency has a close connection with the UK agency that arrested Mrs. Alison-Madueke in London.

Efforts to obtain more information from the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, were unsuccessful, as his mobile phone was unreachable.

EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, announced that the commission would go far and wide to bring corrupt officials to book.

The commission had signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with 12 law enforcement agencies around the world.
Lamorde also boasted that corrupt officials would be brought home to answer their cases, no matter how far they may travel.