Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Wahab Shittu, has attributed the Nigerian government’s failure to properly prosecute former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, for over eight years to the complex extradition procedures involved.
Alison-Madueke, who is accused of embezzling millions of dollars during her tenure, has remained in the United Kingdom since the end of the Goodluck Jonathan administration and has not appeared in Nigerian courts.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Shittu explained that extraditing someone from another country requires legal and administrative procedures, which have delayed her return to face trial. He acknowledged that successive Nigerian governments, particularly the current administration, have been working to address these hurdles.
On Friday, the Nigerian government received $52.88 million in recovered assets linked to Alison-Madueke from the United States. Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi confirmed that $50 million will fund a rural electrification project, with the remaining $2 million allocated to the International Institute of Justice to strengthen the justice system and fight corruption.