The previous Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, has denied the possession of $52.5m just lately repatriated to Nigeria from america of America (USA).
The previous Minister, who has been in the UK (UK) since she left the shores of Nigeria, claimed that the cash linked to her by current media experiences, belonged to a Nigeria’s oil magnate, Kola Aluko.
The previous minister, by her counsel, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, insisted that there was nothing like ‘Diezani Loot’ since she had no hand in any respect within the points surrounding the forfeiture of the cash by the preliminary proprietor.
Stating her place, the previous minister stated the $52.5m got here from a vessel seized by the American authorities from Kola Aluko and which was later offered and proceeds returned to the federal authorities of Nigeria.
Her denial of possession of the cash was contained in a prolonged press assertion issued on Sunday by the Chambers of Mike Ozekhome, SAN, titled “There Is No Such Factor As Diezani Loot”.
A part of the assertion learn: “My chambers makes this intervention within the public area as Solicitors to Diezani Alison-Madueke (DAM) ,the previous Minister of Petroleum Resources (HMPR).
“As her Solicitors, we’re absolutely versed in and conversant along with her current ordeal and all the details surrounding her issues each right here in Nigeria and overseas. So, we write from the vantage place of 1 that’s conscious of the cocktail of lies which were spurned round her circumstances within the final ten years.
“Lots of the narratives are outrightly false; some others sheer outlandish speculations; and most, merely bizzare tales cooked up by her traducers to extract a Shylock’s pound of flesh from her for causes she doesn’t know and can’t even fathom.
“This intervention due to this fact seeks to right this skewed narrative and set the information straight for functions of historical past. Many Nigerians usually discuss wanting ‘technocrats’ to be concerned in governance. They want that individuals with character and integrity ought to be a part of politics.
“We agree with them. Nonetheless and regrettably too, every so often and plenty of a time, the identical folks not solely permit, however truly be a part of the bandwagon to mob-lynch those that selected to serve the nation.
“And we frequently do that insidiously, covertly and overtly, even when there is no such thing as a concrete and even any iota of proof that such public officers ever abused their workplaces or stole from public coffers.
“It’s due to this fact shocking and of nice concern to us, to see the extent of sustained vilification of an harmless Nigerian citizen who has not but been tried and located responsible of any offence recognized to regulation by any courtroom of regulation whether or not in Nigeria or overseas. The individual on the receiving finish is Citizen Diezani Alison-Madueke (DAM).
“We be aware with concern the current deliberate try and hyperlink her with what has been described as a civil forfeiture of a yacht Galactica, the sale of which was stated to have yielded $52.8m to the US authorities; which sum has since been repatriated to Nigeria.
‘This can be a clear instance of the mischievous and merciless sport of tarnishing the picture of the girl by a bouquet of constant, persistent and unrelenting cocktail of falsehoods and misinformation.
“The purveyors of this line of misinformation time period it “name-and-shame”. To promote the storyline, the architects ensured they hooked up Diezani’s identify to a recovered yacht which isn’t in any approach linked to her.
“They now falsely termed it “Diezani loot”. Nothing of the type ever occurred. She was by no means concerned within the buy, use and sale of the stated yacht.
“The yacht Galactica, from info available within the public area and in open sources, was bought by Mr Kola Aluko who had used the vessel till he agreed to its forfeiture to america of America.
“The yacht Galactica was neither owned nor ever utilized by our consumer. DAM has in actual fact by no means set her eyes on the yacht. Kola Aluko is an skilled businessman who had been in enterprise nicely earlier than DAM got here into workplace as HMPR.
“The one tenuous foundation for intentionally linking DAM to the stated yacht is the false narrative that the Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) which have been entered into between Kola Aluko & Jide Omokore’s Atlantic Vitality firms and NNPC, have been allegedly corruptly awarded to the stated firms by DAM. DAM was not the GMD of the NNPC as so didn’t and couldn’t have awarded the stated contracts.
“We plead, as her legal professionals, with one and all that she be accorded honest listening to and that the method of those UK courtroom proceedings be allowed to take their pure course to keep away from prejudice to her within the ongoing subjudice UK proceedings towards her.
“These purveyors and peddlers who habitually spin these outrightly false, unfounded, defamatory, unintelligent and indefensible narratives to denigrate and humiliate her ought to please discover higher use of their time and depart DAM alone.
“Let the regulation take its pure course with out interference. We humbly pray.”
