Why Court Seized £27,000 From Alison-Madueke

More details have emerged regarding yesterday’s order by the UK Westminster Magistrate’s Court to seize £27,000 from Nigeria’s former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The seizure of £5,000 and $2,000 was also ordered from Diezani’s mother, Beatrice Agama, as well as £10,000 from another woman, Melanie Spencer.
The National Crime Agency requested the seizure of the money until April 2016, in accordance with Section 295 of Proceeds of Crime Act 2012.
Vanguard has learned that the move was aimed at giving the agency evidence of Diezani’s involvement in corruption activities.


Sources from the British government disclosed that the money seizures would speed up the trial process against the the ex-minister who served under Goodluck Jonathan.
The Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) reads:
“Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. Other means of recovering the proceeds of crime which do not require a conviction are provided for in the Act, namely civil recovery, cash seizure and taxation powers.
“The aim of the asset recovery schemes in POCA is to deny criminals the use of their assets, recover the proceeds of crime and disrupt and deter criminality.”

Alison-Madueke was arrested alongside three other Nigerians in London on October 2. All were shortly after released on bail. On the same day operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission raided her Abuja house and according to some sources even recovered a large amount of money from it.
Talks on the matter continue, with some saying that other NNPC officials now might face arrest over corruption. As far as Nigerians are concerned, their opinions are divided: some are glad that the anti-graft investigation has been launched on a large scale, while others think it is a case of pure witch-hunting by the administration of Muhammadu Buhari.
The presidency in its comments on the issue said the federal government was attentively following the investigation and working closely with the UK’s law enforcement. Garba Shehu added:
“Nigerian authorities are saying for the first time that matters are being handled with seriousness and deep commitment. Nobody wants to give the impression that this government is frivolous and unserious.
“For this reason, government is only confirming active collaboration. Beyond this, we are not saying more. In due course, Nigerians will be briefed on updates as appropriate.”