Headline

Corruption Charges: EFCC Sets Up Special Team to Interrogate Fayose

Published

8 years ago

October 10, 2018

Eric

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has set up a special team to interrogate Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State next week, The Punch can confirm.

Fayose, who has been governor since October 16, 2014, will lose his immunity at exactly 11.59pm on October 15, 2018, thereby giving the EFCC the constitutional right to arrest, detain and prosecute him.

The governor is expected to report at the EFCC head office in Abuja to meet with the commission’s Director of Operations, Umar Mohammed, after which he will be grilled by a team of operatives.

Fayose is under investigation for allegedly receiving over N1.2bn from a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), through a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

The money was allegedly handed over to Fayose during the build-up to the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State.

Fayose’s aide, Abiodun Agbele, and others had been arraigned by the EFCC but Fayose was excluded because of his immunity.

A source within the EFCC said, “We are expecting Fayose to show up at our office next week. He has nowhere to run to since he is under security watch and cannot leave the country through any land border, seaport or airport.

Headline

UK Court Acquittal: Diezani Goes Spiritual, Says God Will Always Be God

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal by a London court after bribery charges brought against her were dismissed.

The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday acquitted the former minister of all charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief and said she and her family had endured years of emotional distress over the case.

Speaking to News Central, she said she has remained in the United Kingdom since the legal proceedings began 11 years ago.

She said: “I’m just thankful to God, it’s been arduous, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends, my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt and for my son.

“It has been a hard journey, but I tell you this, God will always do as He will. God will be God and God is not a man that He should lie; when He promises you something, He will see it through.

“For almost 11 years I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability.”

Headline

I Never Saw Report that Led to Natasha’s Suspension, Says Ireti Kingibe

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2026

Eric

The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she did not see any report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Kingibe made this disclosure on Wednesday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.

She said she was at a retreat with Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, when she heard about the report.

“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat. I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee.

“We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time.

“It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it.

“I even complained to other Senators, specifically to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report. I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.

Headline

UK Court Clears Ex-Petroleum Minister Alison-Madueke of All Corruption Charges

Published

4 days ago

June 17, 2026

Eric

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was on Wednesday found not guilty by a London jury of six bribery charges, after ‌a rare corruption trial of a high-profile former energy official.

Alison-Madueke, minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 under then-president Goodluck Jonathan, stood trial charged with five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, which she denied.

Prosecutors ⁠alleged Alison-Madueke, 65, was given “a life of luxury” in London from oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria, which has long grappled with mismanagement and corruption.

But the former minister, who was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said she never took any bribes and had no real influence over the awarding of lucrative government contracts.

After a trial at London’s Southwark ‌Crown ⁠Court, Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury of all six charges she faced after more than 46 hours of deliberation.

The not guilty verdicts are a major blow to British authorities, which began their investigation into corruption allegations against Alison-Madueke ⁠more than a decade ago.

Alison-Madueke stood trial alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who was charged with one count of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke ⁠and a separate count of bribery of a foreign public official.

Alison-Madueke’s brother Doye Agama, 69, was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery ⁠with his sister relating to payments made to Agama’s church.

Both Ayinde and Agama denied the charges against them and were also acquitted by the jury.

Source: Reuters