The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has removed an Instagram post attributed to Diezani Allison-Madueke, the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, commenting on the money laundering charges brought against her.
The post, which claimed she spoke in an interview with journalists in the United Kingdom, was initially seen on the anti-graft agency’s official Instagram handle. However, further scrutiny revealed that the unsigned post had been taken down.
According to The Punch, when approached for comments, the EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, denied the report, asserting that the post did not originate from the EFCC.
“The report is not from the EFCC. Anything that is not signed by me is not from us (the EFCC),” he said.
Diezani Allison-Madueke, who served under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, left the country amid prosecution by the EFCC for alleged money laundering.
In October 2023, 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.
The extradition request was made on the orders of President Bola Tinubu and 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 within the Commonwealth, a multilateral treaty governing extradition between the UK and Nigeria.
The Punch further reported that a source said, “The EFCC established a prima facie case against Allison-Madueke in a letter to the office of the AGF, after which a magistrate was ordered to issue a warrant of arrest. The Certified True Copy of the warrant of arrest was then attached to the extradition request written to the UK government by the AGF on the orders of the President.”
