Diezani: Her travails, her cross
However, her fame is not the type most people would pray for . That she has suddenly become a household name is on account of her recent arrest by the National Crime Agency (NCA), United Kingdom over alleged money laundering . Certainly, the former minister would not be taken aback that she is being probed by the incumbent administration. To say that she has been expecting a clampdown on her is an under- statement. But she may not have envisaged that the tackle would start from outside the shores of Nigeria.
Possibly, if she had realised that, there is doubt if she would have elected to reside in London. Though she and four other suspects, arrested were grant- ed conditional bail by the British National Crime Agency , the reprieve lasted only for few hours. They ordered to report last Monday at the Charing Cross Police Station.
The noose around her neck was tightened that Monday as she was arraigned before Westminster Magistrates Court, Central London on Monday.
There are still claims, however, that she did not appear before the court that day. Broadcaster and activist, Kayode Ogundamisi, in a series of tweets via his Twitter handle, @ogundamisi on Monday shared photos from the Charing Cross Police Station, as well as photos of court 10 at the Westminster Magistrate Court, London, where the ex-minister is purportedly to be charged.
Ogundamisi, said: “Only three cases listed for court 10 at the Westminster Magistrate Court. Diezani Alison-Madueke is not listed. Officials at West Minster Magistrate Court said they have not seen the former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.”
Both London and Nigeria are not safe havens for Deziani at the moment .The same day she was arrested and quizzed in London, , her residence in Abuja was frisked and sealed by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) .
The import of that is clearly that both Nigeria and UK are collaborating on the onslaught on Madueke . It was not surpris- ing that the Presidency came out to announce, early in the week, that it was working with the UK on that.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mr Femi Adesina told an online plat- form “The government is aware of the arrest and all the government investigative agencies are working very closely with the British law enforcement”.
He stressed; “Nigerian authorities are saying for the first time that matters are being handled with seriousness and deep commitment. Nobody wants to give the impression that this government is frivolous and unserious.
“For this reason, government is only confirming active collaboration. Beyond this, we are not saying more. In due course, Nigerians will be briefed on updates as appropriate.”
Deziani is unlikely to return to Nigeria soon. This because the traveling documents of the former former minister, were seized by the police on the day she was granted conditional bail. The seizure was part of the bail conditions . The documents are to be with the security operatives till the end of investigation of the case and her arraignment.
Of this will not amuse the minister, her family members and her supporters. But her army of critics in Nigeria are at home with the development.
Clarification on arrest
That Diezani’s travails are en- joying widespread celebration in the camp of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and some other circles is clearly a well known fact. But, until the UK NCA came out to situate the rationale for arresting and quiz- zing the former minister, there were diverse claims on why she was nabbed.
Perhaps, in a bid to check the spread of misleading claims that trailed the arrest, NCA, last weekend clarified that investigation into allegations of corruption against Mrs Madueke and the four other people arrested on Friday had been on since 2013.
The agency said on its website that investigation was originally handled under the Proceeds of Corruption Unit (PCU) domiciled at the London Metropolitan Police Service in 2013 until earlier this year when the case was transferred to it.
The NCA said following the creation of the International Corruption Unit (ICU) in line with the UK Anti-Corruption Plan, the PCU at the Metropolitan Police and the Overseas Anti- Corruption Unit of the City of London Police were scrapped.
The ICU has since become the UK’s prime agency for the in- vestigation of bribery of foreign public officials by individuals
or companies from the UK, and money laundering by corrupt foreign officials and their associates.
The Proceeds of Crime Act says “The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (“POCA”) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of criminal assets with criminal confiscation being the most commonly used power.
“Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. Other means of recovering the proceeds of crime which do not require a conviction are provided for in the Act, namely civil recovery, cash seizure and taxation powers.
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