The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has taken down an Instagram post featuring a quote attributed to the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, regarding money laundering charges against her. The initial social media post, which claimed to contain statements made by the ex-minister during an interview with journalists in the United Kingdom, has been deleted from the anti-graft agency’s official Instagram handle.
Upon further investigation, it was observed that the unsigned post had been removed. When questioned about this development, the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, denied the report, emphasizing that the information did not originate from the EFCC and was not signed by any representative of the agency. Oyewale stated, “The report is not from the EFCC. Anything that is not signed by me is not from us (the EFCC).”
Diezani Allison-Madueke, who served in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, left the country amid prosecution by the EFCC on charges of alleged money laundering. In October 2023, Sunday PUNCH reported exclusively that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, submitted a warrant of arrest and an extradition request to the Crown Prosecution Services of the United Kingdom. This request, made on President Bola Tinubu’s orders, followed a written official request by the EFCC to the office of the AGF earlier in October.
The extradition request cited Section 2 (2) of Nigeria’s Extradition Act and the London Scheme of Extradition, a multilateral treaty governing extradition between the United Kingdom and Nigeria. A top Federal Government source disclosed that the EFCC established a prima facie case against Allison-Madueke, leading to the issuance of a warrant of arrest by a magistrate. The warrant of arrest was then attached to the extradition request submitted to the UK government by the AGF at the President’s directive.