Court orders arrest of embattled former minister of petroleum resources

 

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, issued an arrest warrant against embattled former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke over corruption charges pending against her.

It is the second arrest warrant to be issued against the ex-minister, who is believed to have fled to the United Kingdom since leaving office in 2015.

On December 4, 2018, a judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Valentine Ashi (now deceased), ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Police Force, the States Security Service (SSS), and all other security agencies to arrest her within 72 hours.

The matter was later taken to the Federal High Court in Abuja where the EFCC filed 13 counts of money laundering against Ms Alison-Madueke in anticipation of her extradition to Nigeria.

On July 24, 2020, Ijeoma Ojukwu, the judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, handling the matter, issued a summons for the former minster to appear to answer to the charges preferred against her.

Ms Alison-Madueke ignored the summons which, anyway, could not be confirmed was served on her.

EFCC subsequently requested the judge to issue a warrant of arrest against the former minister.

But the judge turned down the request, insisting that the summons she issued was sufficient to process her extradition to Nigeria to face her trial, adding that she would not issue another order in vain.

Earlier, about  the raid on ex-minester's apartment Abdulrasheed Bawa, the chairman of the EFCC once denied reports that a diamond bra was among items recovered from Diezani's apartment contrary to media reports.

Recall that there were rumors a bra made of diamonds was part of the forfeited items belonging to the former petroluem minister to be auctioned.

The EFCC chairman made the clarification during his appearance on TVC's Your View on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.

Meanwhile, a fresh sum of $72.87 million said to be linked to the embattled former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has been discovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a statement on the discovery, the anti-graft agency disclosed that the money was traced to a new generation bank and that the former managing director of the bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who was in office at the time of the alleged crime, has been arrested,