On Friday, former petroleum minister Ms Alison-Madueke was arrested along with four others at her London home and questioned over corruption and money laundering charges. After several hours of grilling, she was released on bail but her passport was seized and she has been asked to report at Charing Cross Police Station on Monday for further questioning.
It now appears that investigations point to largescale corruption involving billions of dollars that members of the Jonathan administration laundered through the UK. Under international money laundering rules, UK authorities can prosecute and confiscate Nigerian officials for corruption once the money comes into Britain.
Although Ms Alison-Madueke and the four other suspects arrested along with her were granted bail same day, tension has already gripped the Jonathan government following what sources described as threat by the once powerful ex-minister to open up on certain deals which she was directed to execute. She is said to be good at keeping records, including handwritten notes.
One source at one of the anti-graft agencies said: "Mrs Alison-Madueke is just one of the few cases of ex-ministers under investigation. We have at least about three issues at hand and do not forget that these three cases are outside the matter of ex-minister Stella Oduah which is stuck in court.
“The depletion of the $1bn in sovereign wealth fund by about $700m is one of the priority cases with anti-graft agencies. There are also the issues of reckless granting of tax waivers to oil firms.”
Some of the former ministers are believed to have been implicated by permanent secretaries and are likely to be quizzed in connection with alleged reckless granting of waivers and the depletion of the sovereign wealth fund without the knowledge of the National Economic Council. They are also likely to be questioned over the granting of questionable contracts.
One source close to the Jonathan administration said: “Those in Jonathan’s camp felt the ex-president’s visit to President Muhammadu Buhari had created a window for mutual talks and negotiation on alleged graft findings by the new administration. They did not know that Buhari really meant business to retrieve looted funds.
“The fear in Jonathan’s camp is that Diezani might be given the James Ibori treatment and they are suspecting that she might be tried and convicted in the UK. None of us has been able to reach out to Diezani because all her lines are off and she has also not called to share her travails with anybody.”
Ms Diezani-Madueke's arrest was facilitated by the voluntary surrender to the National Crimes Agency (NCA) by a Nigerian oil baron said to be fronting for her. Following surveillance and monitoring by security agencies, the oil baron confided in a former head of state who encouraged him to open up to the NCA on all such slush accounts, including some said to belong to Ms Diezani-Madueke.
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