February 03, (THEWILL) – International Police organisation (INTERPOL), Nigeria, has said the United Kingdom (UK) government turned down its request to repatriate former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Deziani Alison-Madueke.
INTERPOL Head, National Central Bureau (NCB), Nigeria, AIG Garba Baba Umar, disclosed this Thursday, on the sidelines of an investigative hearing by an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives on the illegal sale of Nigeria’s crude oil chaired by Mark Gbillah.
Responding to a question from a member of the committee, Jude Ngaji, representing the Ogoja/Yala federal constituency of Cross River State, on why Mrs Alison-Madueke has not been repatriated to the country, Umar said all the processes of Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) to bring the Minister back to Nigeria were followed, but the UK government refused the request.
He added that the former Minister also went to court in the UK to block her repatriation.
“The issue of Diezani, a warrant of arrest was issued. I am sorry to say the government of the UK turned down our request. We followed the MLA. You can check, that is mutual legal assistance to bring her back home. She also went to court.
“The Director of Public Prosecution from the ministry we have been doing issues of extradition, issue of reparation and so on, this is the normal procedure that has been in existence.
“The NCB deals with the head of all correspondences if the request for assistance comes to my table. They write to me EFCC, NIS, and all other agencies asking me to assist them on a matter.
“All I need to do just like what the chairman said is to scrutinise the papers and go through the documents that were brought before me.
“You can’t place somebody on a watchlist or red notice, ordinarily I would have done it, but I can’t do that because they have to show me evidence and we have to get help from the other person. It’s the normal procedure Mr Chairman.
“I am not privy to the investigation and I am also not privy to the action of what the Ministry of Justice or the courts are doing. All I know, I receive a request and in the normal process Mr Chairman and honourable members of this committee, it is my duty, it is my responsibility to check before I act.
“With respect to assistance, Mr Chairman, seeking assistance, just like what happened if you remember, we repatriated many Nigerians who were alleged to have swindled the Nigerian government.
“I went personally and brought Maina from Niger; I brought the former Attorney General of the Federation from Dubai and many other Nigerians who absconded, we brought them back to face justice and those who are in Nigeria hiding, we took them back to their various countries to face justice”, he said.
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