Diezani To Appear In UK Court Over Bribery As Tinubu Govt Plans Extradition

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke will on Monday appear before a Southwark Crown Court judge to answer bribery charges and allegations of corruption from the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA).

Naija News recalls that the embattled Diezani had earlier this month appeared before a Westminster Magistrate Court, from where the multimillion pound allegations and corruption charges were transferred to the crown court for Monday’s proceedings.

“That’ll be courtroom 14,” a Southwark Crown Court official told The Guardian last Friday, confirming that the 63-year-old will be there for the Plea and Pre-Trial.

Asked how long the trial will be, he reiterated the previous story and said: “No date has been set,” adding that it all depends on the outcome on Monday.

“She may not need to stand trial if she takes a guilty plea. However, if she pleads not guilty, a date will then be set for a trial,” he said.

$2.5bn Fraud: Tinubu Govt Writes UK, Requests Diezani’s Extradition

Meanwhile, the Bola Tinubu Government has also submitted a warrant of arrest and request for the urgent extradition of Allison-Madueke.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), submitted the request to the Crown Prosecution Services of the United Kingdom.

It was learned that President Bola Tinubu ordered the submission of the request following a written official request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the office of the AGF earlier in October.

Speaking with The Punch, a top Federal Government source said in making the extradition request, the office of the AGF cited Section 2 (2) of Nigeria’s Extradition Act, CAP E25, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and the London Scheme of Extradition within the Commonwealth otherwise known as “The Scheme,” a multilateral treaty which governs extradition between the United Kingdom and Nigeria.