The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has listed some of Nigeria’s oil moguls and companies allegedly linked to a multi-billion naira corruption case involving a former minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
According to the counsel to the EFCC, Farouk Abdullah, in a document filed along with a motion ex-parte, it sought to question Alison-Madueke in relation to many allegations against her, including her business relationships with Mr. Onajite Okoloko’s Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited; Mr. Tonye Cole’s Sahara Energy Group; Chief lkpea Leemon of Lee Engineering Group; Mr Donald Amamgbo and Mr Afam Nwokedi.
Others include Miss Olatimbo Bukola Ayinde, Christopher Aire, Harcourt Adukeh, Julian Osula, Dauda Lawal, Mr Leno Laithan, Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited owned by Jide Omokore, Septa Energy Limited, among others, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Recall that a Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Bolaji Olajuwon, on Monday, issued an arrest warrant against the former minister believed to be residing in the UK, having failed to honour the summons by the court.
According to Abdullah, the EFCC’s counsel, the arrest warrant was needed to further give the International Police (INTERPOL) the impetus to bring the defendant to Nigeria to answer to charges against her.
Abdullah had, in an application, urged the court “to issue an arrest warrant against Alison-Madueke, who is believed to be in the UK to enable all law enforcement agencies and the INTERPOL to arrest her anywhere she is sighted and bring her before the court to answer to the allegations made against her before the court.”
He said since the summon had not been able to achieve the desired result, the need for a warrant of arrest cannot be over-emphasised. NAN reports that the court had, on July 24, 2020, ordered the former minister to appear before it and answer to the money laundering charge filed against her by the EFCC.
The court gave the ruling in an ex-parte motion marked FHC/ABJ/CR/208/2018 brought by Abdullah. The EFCC had accused the former minister of fleeing the country for the UK in order to escape justice, among others
Among other allegations against Diezani are “her role in the chartering of private jets by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Ministry of Petroleum Resources and her role in the award of contracts by NNPC to Marine and Logistics Services Limited.
“Her role in financing the 2015 general elections”
The EFCC also noted that it equally wanted the ex-minister to speak on several items, documents and Jeweleries recovered from her house at No: 10, Chiluba Close, off Jose Marti Street, Asokoro, Abuja, and some identified properties that were linked to her In Nigeria, UK, U.S., United Arab Emirate and South Africa.
It would be recalled that the EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa in the April 2021 edition of the agency’s in-house magazine, disclosed that the anti-corruption commission recovered 153 million dollars from Alison-Madueke.
Bawa said the agency also made the final forfeiture of over 80 properties in Nigeria valued at about $80 million from the former minister, who has been living in the UK since leaving office some years ago.
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