The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has announced that it has obtained an arrest warrant against former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke. The details of the court that issued the warrant were not disclosed in the statement released by the EFCC.
According to the EFCC’s acting spokesman, Dele Oyewale, the commission has initiated extradition proceedings against Diezani, indicating that she will soon face charges in Nigerian courts.
In a separate development, a court in the United Kingdom (UK) granted bail to Diezani Alison-Madueke in the sum of £70,000. She appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court after being charged with bribery offenses totaling £100,000, as part of an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
District Judge Michael Snow granted her bail but imposed certain conditions, considering her a “flight risk.” The NCA alleges that Diezani accepted bribes during her tenure as Minister for Petroleum Resources in exchange for awarding multimillion-pound oil and gas contracts.
As part of the ongoing investigation, assets worth millions of pounds related to the alleged offenses have been frozen. In March of the same year, the NCA provided evidence to the U.S. Department of Justice that led to the recovery of assets totaling $53.1 million linked to Diezani’s alleged corruption.
Diezani Alison-Madueke has faced multiple allegations of corruption and has spent the past eight years on police bail while living in London. The charges against her relate to events alleged to have taken place in London.
