It is no longer news that Nigeria's former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, was on Friday, 2nd October, arrested in London, over allegations of corruption and money laundering. Soon after her arrest, Diezani's home in Asokoro, Abuja was raided and sealed by the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's anti-corruption agents. Mrs. Alison-Madueke and four colleagues who were arrested with her, were granted “conditional bail” later that day.
Mrs. Madueke’s travel documents and those of the four others were however seized, as part of the bail conditions, which barred them from travelling outside the United kingdom, pending the conclusion of investigation and their arraignment in court.
The United Kingdom National Crime Agency explained that investigation into allegations of corruption against the former Petroleum Resources Minister and the four other people arrested had been on since 2013.
Diezani Alison-Madueke in April 2010, became the first woman to serve as Nigeria's Petroleum Resources Minister, a position she occupied until May 2015, when Muhammadu Buhai's administration was sworn in. On November 27, 2014, Allison- Madueke was elected at the 166th Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna, the first female President of OPEC.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke who is believed to be worth billions of Naira, has been subjected to the Nigerian Senate probe on the allegation that as Transport Minister, she had paid a the sum of $263 million (30.9 billion naira) to contractors between 26 and 31 December 2007. She was also accused of being responsible for missing $20 billion dollars, alleged transfer of 1.2 billion naira into the private account of a toll company without due process, and alleged to have spent billions of Nigerian dollars inappropriately on private jets.
There are however, positive achievements believed to have been attained during Mrs. Alison-Madueke tenures in the numerous positions she occupied. Chief among them is her contribution to world’s economic stability, by enhance energy security in the Gulf of Guinea, through global advocates which focused on ending energy poverty in developing countries.
In the same vain, United Kingdom revealed in a recent interview that it has not given up on its efforts to extradite a former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, back to Britain to face trial on money laundering charges.
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was elected Governor of Bayelsa State in May 1999, and re-elected in 2003 under the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). In September, 2005, Alamieyeseigha was detained in London on charges of money laundering.
At the time of his arrest, the London Metropolitan Police found about £1m in cash in his London home, a total of £1.8m ($3.2m) in cash and bank accounts, and real estate in London worth an alleged £10 million.
Rumored to have disguising himself as a woman, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha jumped bail in December 2005, a claim Alamieyeseigha refutes.