The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu, has met with National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom to seek its help in extraditing a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
Apart from the former petroleum minister, the agency is also pursuing the extradition of other politically exposed persons taking refuge in the UK and the recovery of all ill-gotten assets domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction.
Diezani, who was oil minister between 2011-2015, has been on the EFCC radar for several years since the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was ousted in the election of 2015.
In 2017, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of N7.6 billion loot recovered by the Commission from Diezani. The order of final forfeiture to the Federal Government was granted by Justice Abdulazeez Anka.
“Having waited for three years, the Nigerian government believes that it is time to initiate the extradition process,” Magu told the NCA officials during the meeting held on Thursday.
According to a statement by EFCC today, the anti-graft agency is bent on extraditing all politically exposed persons.
Magu also reportedly discussed with NCA the efforts of the Commission in the recovery of all ill-gotten assets domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction by Nigerian’s Politically Exposed Persons, PEPs.
The NCA is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2013 as a non-ministerial government department, replacing the Serious Organised Crime Agency, SOCA, and absorbing the formerly separate Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre as one of its commands.
Outside Diezani, there are several other PEPs who have fled into exile since 2015 when the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came on board in May 2015.
