It was announced by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that it has received an arrest warrant and begun the extradition process so that Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, can be tried in Nigeria.
The EFCC made this news on Monday in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale. This came after Madueke was tried in a court in the UK.
“An arrest warrant has been obtained and extradition proceedings have begun so that the former Minister can be brought to justice in Nigeria,” Oyewale said.
“She is going to be tried by the Commission.” She will soon have her day in court."
Meanwhile, the EFCC is very interested in Alison-Madueke’s hearing at the Westminister’s Court in London, UK, because she is being accused of bribery.
“It is important to remember that criminal behavior is criminal behavior, no matter where it happens,” the commission said. “The charges brought against her in London are very different from the 13-count charges related to money laundering that the EFCC has brought against her.”
It also said that no crime should go unchecked and that Madueke is responsible to the EFCC for money laundering charges in Dubai, the UK, the USA, and Nigeria.
The former Nigerian minister for Petroleum Resources was given 70,000 pounds bail by a court in the UK.
Madueke, who lives in St. John’s Wood, London, went to Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday after being charged with bribery crimes worth a total of £100,000 following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Michael Snow, the district judge, let her out on bail but put some other terms on it because he thought she was “a flight risk.”
The 63-year-old Alison-Madueke was a key player in the Nigerian government from 2010 to 2015. She was also president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The NCA thinks she took bribes as Minister for Petroleum Resources in exchange for giving out oil and gas contracts worth millions of pounds.
As part of the ongoing probe, assets worth millions of pounds that are linked to the alleged crimes have already been frozen.
Alison-Madueke was arrested in London in 2015, not long after she quit as minister. In August, she was charged with six counts of fraud.