By AYO ESAN.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership has called on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and authority in charge of extradition together with the anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to take necessary steps in bringing forth the case of former minister of Petroleum to book.
In a release issued by its Media and Publication Officer, Toyin Odofin on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the Centre, Debo Adeniran, CACOL said “Despite the court order, granting the arrest warrant on December 4, 2018, given by Justice Ashi to EFCC and other security agencies, including the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force to arrest Diezani within 72 hours, it has been so unfortunate that the anti-graft agencies have failed to execute the order due to their inability to obtain the consent of the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, which is the only body with the powers to file an extradition request in the country where the wanted person is located.
“However, the Judge who was handling the case filed by the EFCC suddenly died at the preliminary stage which also contributed to the delay of the case, for cases to be urgently re-assigned under a circumstance like this, those interested in the case have to write to that effect.
“This is why CACOL, as an anti-corruption organization with total disdain for any corruptive acts, especially by government officials directly or through proxies, agencies or their representatives, believe that this fraudulent act is weighty enough to attract the interest and intervention of relevant anti-graft agencies in the country, with a view to investigating and redressing these anomalies, where relevant.
“Moreso, the EFCC said it had investigated the former minister along with co-accused, Omokore, following a petition dated October 2, 2013, from Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, bordering on money laundering and official corruption. Currently, Omokore is standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges involving about $1.6bn alleged to be part of proceeds of sales of petroleum products belonging to the Federal Government under Diezani’s tenure as petroleum minister. But the commission said its fresh investigations revealed that Madueke as supervising minister of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was found to have engaged in “illicit and monumental fraudulent dealings in oil transactions, which she entered into on behalf of the Federal Government”.
The CACOL boss added, “We enjoin the anti-graft agencies to not only retrieve all ill-gotten wealth from wherever it has been repatriated, but to call for the independent probe, also to ensure that adequate deterrence is meted out of those indicted for the evils of corruptive practices to take flight from our sociopolitical space”.
