Relating Alison-Madueke To Ibori, Alamieyeseigha Saga

Diezani Alison-Madueke, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha (upper right), James Ibori

 Nigerians have split into several opposing camps following the controversy of Diezani Alison-Madueke, the former minister of petroleum’s, arrest in London. While some have okayed the development, others are lambasting the President Buhari-led administration for witch-hunting. In his opinion piece, Eustace Dunn, a social commenter and Naij.com’s senior editor, examines this issue in relation to some other politicians who were involved in similar series of arrests in the United Kingdom.

No pen can ever give the right or perfect description of the all-pervading corruption produced by the “normal routine” of money laundering carried out by government officials in Nigeria. Embezzlement has become the enemy of national development, and those who embark on syphoning public funds do not care about whether the funds could have been spent for the generality of all.

One of the key problems in politics today is that government officials continue to successfully disgrace the national course. That is why someone like Diezani Alison-Madueke could be nabbed for hijacking what belonged to all to suit her personal gratification.

The revelation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the United Kingdom about the probe into Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former petroleum minister’’s, bribery and money laundering case is another reminder of the arrest and imprisonment of James Onanefe Ibori, a former governor of Delta state. Alison-Madueke’’s probe may have culminated from the indictment which the former governor of Nigeria’s central bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, made in 2013. Of course, to corroborate this, the NCA said the investigation actually started in the same year.

The missing billions

In his fearless verbalisation, Sanusi had said that $20 billion of oil money had gone missing from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) account when the former minister was in office.

Subsequently, Alison denied it, and soon after that saga, Sanusi was sacked. Alison-Madueke was seemingly cleared by this sacking. She was bigger than the probe. That was a presumption the former president Goodluck Jonathan granted his cabinet members while in office. Alas, she became smaller than the UK law. She was arrested for what she couldn’t be arrested for in Nigeria: bribery and money laundering.

Ibori’’s bribery case and final conviction

This same bigger-than-law trait is what Ibori exhibited when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) nabbed him in 2007. He too was accused of attempting to bribe the-then anti-graft czar, Nuhu Ribadu, with $15 million. Ibori’s case was highly unfortunate for him because there were indications that he was at loggerheads with the former president Olusegun Obasanjo who had set up the anti-corruption agency.

Without prejudice to his predicaments, the former governor was at the top of his game. Surprisingly, he won the case at a kangaroo court in Asaba in 2009. Ibori was discharged of all the 170 charges brought against him by the EFCC and acquitted.

Shortly after Jonathan became Nigeria’s acting president and later president, he reopened the case in line with some hints that Ibori was unequivocally against his becoming Umaru Yaradua’s presidential running mate in 2007. Eventually, Ibori got caught by the Interpol in Dubai, extradited to the UK and convicted on what he was acquitted for in Nigeria.

Killing corruption cases against the indicted

Madueke’’s case is not far from those of the former governor. For instance, in 2008, it was said that she had had disagreements with the Nigerian Senate. The hallowed chambers had raised alarm that as the-then minister of transport, she paid over 30 billion naira to various contractors within a period of five days in 2007.

Later on, she was meant to account for the billions of naira which she had spent on private jets, and some other reckless personal spending of government funds. In the same 2009 that Ibori was facing his trial, the Senate had also suggested that Madueke be probed. With all the cases brought forward against her, none of them was ever taken to court for proper judicial proceedings to ascertain who stole what. All the matters died under Goodluck Jonathan-led government.

In the history of Nigeria’s political corruption, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the Bayelsa state former governor also had similar case when he was charged for money laundering in September 2005 over £1 million cash found in his possession in London. Unlike Alamieyeseigha who jumped bail in the UK and disguised as a woman to run back to Nigeria, Madueke would not be able to escape Britain’’s sledgehammer as it stands.

At the moment, as embattled as Alamieyeseigha may have been, he is free from any corruption charges sequel to the presidential pardon Jonathan granted him at the intervention of some political and religious bigwigs in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, Jonathan is no longer there to hide Madueke under his broken ‘umbrella’. Even if he was still there, this is UK’’s jurisdiction. Here, the former minister may not be able to prove her innocence as she claimed to have been in Nigeria during the Sanusi, Senate and NNPC indictments.

The Buhari-led corruption war

In fact, the UK’s crime agency recently negated the speculation that President Buhari is witch-hunting former ministers when it disclosed that the probe started in 2013.

Hopefully, the president had declared a war against corrupt officials during his presidential campaign which undoubtedly is one of the reasons why Madueke ran away on her own weeks before the May 29 inauguration. It may have been the fear of the new “sheriff in town”. Unbeknownst to the former minister, she had been on the watchlist of the beehive which she ran into.

Buhari recently said at the 70th United Nations General Assembly that countries simply abet crime when they help lodge stolen monies. A part of the speech reads: “In particular, I call upon the global community to urgently redouble efforts towards strengthening the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption and ensuring the return of stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin.”

This was a clear signal to other nations that he was really out for the pursuit of alleged corrupt officials and to frontally confront the twin evils of corruption and illicit financial outflows.

The fact is that it is the likes of Alison-Madueke’’s money laundering allegation that make Nigeria continually become rated as one of the most corrupt countries the world over. Her many sins in Nigeria may have been neglected by Jonathan, the Senate and the judiciary, but with the recent arrest, will she be able to make Britain neglect her case? Will the UK be able to prove to the world their incorruptible distinguishing feature?

It may not have been any happenstance that these people were caught in the UK. However, just like Ibori’s political declivity, will Diezani Alison-Madueke have a final fall into serving a jail term for bribery and money laundering? Or will she disguise to a man and run back to Nigeria to wait for a presidential pardon?  These are the many questions running through the minds of some Nigerians who are anticipating the results of President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade. Whether the present administration will be able to investigate all those who were once government officials without bias is anyone’’s guess.

It is then hoped that arresting corrupt Nigerians and taking them to face incorruptible judges would end up deterring others from venturing into unscrupulous acts.