Corruption: UK Gets Evidence Against Diezani

The United Kingdom (UK) is now in possession of a pile of evidence against former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, courtesy of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

(EFCC).

A team of EFCC detectives was on standby yesterday to proceed to London to interrogate the ex-minister.

Sources familiar with her investigation by the EFCC told The Nation that all the evidence gathered by the anti-graft agency on Diezani had been handed over to UK investigators. The Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu accompanied by some detectives took the evidence to the National Crime Agency in the UK. “The evidence includes an inventory of more than 15 choice properties at home and abroad, her account status, documents and vital video clips,” the source said. “The evidence was taken to London in preparation for her trial.

In fact, one or two persons indicted in the fuel subsidy scandal are already in detention in the UK ahead of her trial.

Responding to a question, the source added: “We are also sending some EFCC detectives to the UK to interrogate Diezani on some issues. We need to obtain her statement too on certain allegations against her in Nigeria.

“We learnt that she has substantially ‘recovered’ and we want our team to interview her in London.

“When the trial begins, Nigerians will have a full insight into our findings against the ex-minister.”

Continuing, the EFCC source said: “We have placed some of these properties under temporary asset forfeiture. We are still investigating some properties allegedly bought by the ex-minister through some proxies.

“But we have submitted a documentary on all these assets to investigators in the UK. We also discovered a box which was full of jewelry and expensive wrist watches in one of the properties with price tags.

“Some detectives who visited Nigeria from the UK inspected this box which we may transfer to the UK.

“On the $115million poll bribery scandal, we have video clips of how electoral officials and politicians were hauling cash from banking halls.

EFCC does not engage in a personal vendetta. Nigerians will know the truth at the end of the trial either in Nigeria or in the UK.”Diezani Alison-Madueke

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BY YUSUF ALLI, MANAGING EDITOR, NORTHERN OPERATION