News
Diezani Loses N7.6B Loot, Protesters Demand Extradition from UK
The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered the final forfeiture of N7.6billion allegedly stolen and hidden by Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Minister of Petroleum Resources.
This came as Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, on Monday led a protest to the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja to demand the extradition of Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources, from the UK to Nigeria.
But in Lagos, Justice Abdulazeez Anka granted an application by the EFCC seeking the money’s final forfeiture to the Federal Government.
He held: “I’ve read the motion on notice seeking the final forfeiture of the sum of N7,646,700,000 reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
“I have also gone through the affidavit in support of the application. In the circumstances, I am of the view that the application has merit and is hereby granted as prayed. Parties have a right of appeal.”
Moving the application, EFCC’s lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo said the money was part of “huge sums” allegedly diverted by Mrs Alison-Madueke from various subsidiaries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
According to him, it was “fraudulently converted from NNPC by Mrs Alison-Madueke”.
He said the commission published an advertorial after the court ordered the money’s temporary forfeiture, but no one came forward to claim its ownership.
In an affidavit to support the application, an investigating officer, Usman Zakari, said he was part of a team of operatives who investigated an intelligence report that huge sums were laundered.
He said it was looted through former Managing Director, Crude Oil Marketing Department, Gbenga Olu Komolafe; former Managing Director, Petroleum Products Management Company (PPMC) Prince Haruna Momoh; Group Managing Director, Nigerian Products Marketing Company (NPMC) Umar Farouk Ahmed, Stanley Lawson, Babajide Sonoiki and some bank chiefs on behalf of Mrs Alison-Madueke.
The deponent said Mrs Alison-Madueke called a bank chief to her office for a meeting where she informed him that some officials of her ministry would be bringing funds to his bank.
She allegedly directed that the “funds must neither be credited into any known account nor captured in any transactional platforms of the bank”.
The investigator added: “In carrying out this alleged scheme of fraud, the sum of $153,310,000 was moved from NNPC through B.O.N Otti and Stanley Lawson, both former Group Executive Directors, Finance and Account of the NNPC” to the bank.
He said using the same fraudulent scheme, another $45million was also conveyed to the bank.
He said the money was conveyed in cash from Abuja to the bank’s headquarters in Lagos; $113,310,000 was taken out of it and moved to another bank in a bid to conceal its illicit source.
The investigator said the remaining $40million was conveyed in cash to a bank chief, Dauda Lawal.
Zakari said $108,310,000 was taken from the $113,310,000 and was disguised and invested in an off balance sheet investment using an asset management company owned by the bank as a special purpose vehicle.
He said the remaining $5million was conveyed in cash to another bank’s managing director “for safe keeping”.
The sum in the asset management company was allegedly converted to N23,446,300,000, which EFCC said it recovered in drafts from the bank.
It also recovered the $5million held by the bank MD.
The operative said the $40million conveyed in cash to Lawal was subsequently converted to N9,080,000,000 and retained by him.
Zakari said the N23,446,300,000, $5million and N9,080,000,000 were forfeited to the Federal Government on February 16, following an order by Justice Muslim Hassan of the same court.
According to him, the $45million was converted to naira by the bank in a bid to conceal and disguise its illicit origin.
He said EFCC received N7,646,700,000 in draft from the bank.
He recalled that the court on August 9 granted an interim order of forfeiture of the money and directed EFCC to publish the order in national newspapers to enable any person interested in it to appear in court and show cause why it should not be forfeited permanently to the Federal Government.
“The applicant has complied with the order of this court by publishing the said order on the 16th of August. It is in the interest of justice to grant this application,” Zakari said.
Justice Anka “granted the application as prayed”.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has frozen London properties valued at £10 million allegedly bought for the former minister.
The two properties located at Regents Park in London, along with one in Buckinghamshire, have now been frozen based on the request of Nigerian authorities.
According to online news medium, Premium Times, a London court gave the freeze order in September 2016 but details of the rulings have only recently become public.
But the agency was too late in preventing a further two properties worth £8 million from being sold.
In July, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) had revealed four properties it alleged were bought for the former petroleum minister by individuals and firms seeking her influence in obtaining lucrative oil assets and crude oil lifting contracts.
Some of the oil assets were assigned to people believed to be her cronies through Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs).
The DoJ’s affidavit stated that businessmen, Jide Omokore and Kola Aluko were involved in the purchase of two of the properties allegedly bought for Alison-Madueke.
The UK order obtained by Africa Confidential, a newsletter specialising in politics and business in Africa, has revealed that three of the properties have been frozen under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
In Abuja, Charly Boy, led protesters, who converged on the premises of the EFCC, who wielded a banner which comically read, ‘Bring Back Diezani Alison-Madueke’.
Alison-Madueke, who served in the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, has been linked to several corruption cases. Some pieces of property she allegedly own have also been seized by the government.
But the former minister insists that she has no case to answer and that the pieces of property linked to her were not hers.
Patience Okala, the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office has urged African countries to stop exporting raw materials and instead focus on adding value to its natural resources if it is to fully harness the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area.
She stated this on Thursday at the Streamsowers & Köhn 20th Anniversary Business Forum, where she stressed that value addition and beneficiation are essential to Africa’s industrialisation and long-term economic growth.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, she said the AfCFTA goes beyond the elimination of tariffs, serving as a framework for industrialisation, value addition, and job creation across the continent.
“AfCFTA is not only about tariffs; it is also about value addition. Africa has to stop exporting raw materials. We need to add value and ensure that beneficiation is done on the continent,” she said.
Okala also said Africa’s economic transformation would depend on the effective implementation of the AfCFTA rather than on the signing of trade agreements alone.
“We have moved beyond negotiations. The success of AfCFTA will be measured by the extent to which businesses can access new markets, trade seamlessly across borders, and benefit from the opportunities created by the agreement,” she said.
She noted that Nigeria had intensified efforts to implement the agreement under the leadership of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, including the development of simplified AfCFTA guides in six languages to help businesses understand and take advantage of opportunities under the trade pact.
Okala called for stronger collaboration among governments, regulators, and the private sector to eliminate barriers to trade and investment and build a truly integrated African market.
“As we move from policy to implementation, our collective responsibility is to ensure that the opportunities created by AfCFTA become practical realities for businesses, particularly MSMEs, women-owned enterprises, and young entrepreneurs across the continent,” she said.
Cisco is exploring artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions to support smallholder farmers in Nigeria, as part of efforts to expand digital inclusion and technology adoption.
The initiative focuses on improving agricultural productivity through accessible, data-driven tools.
The move aligns with growing collaboration between Nigeria and the United States under the Commercial and Investment Partnership, which prioritises the digital economy, agriculture and infrastructure.
Speaking at the 2026 World Business Chicago, Brian Tippens, chief social impact and inclusion Officer at Cisco, said the company is assessing practical AI applications to help farmers combine local knowledge with data insights.
He said Cisco is exploring tools such as AI-enabled WhatsApp communities, geospatial mapping and weather intelligence to support day-to-day farming decisions.
The approach reflects a shift towards low-cost, mobile-first solutions suited to rural environments.
Tippens added that the Cisco Foundation is investing in early-stage startups developing technologies for local agricultural challenges.
Industry analysts note that AI adoption in emerging markets depends on locally relevant solutions, rather than large-scale enterprise deployments alone.
Beyond agriculture, Cisco plans to expand digital skills development in Nigeria through programmes such as the Cisco Networking Academy’s One Million Learners initiative.
Tippens said the programme also supports partnerships with organisations working with persons with disabilities, including those developing tools for people with visual impairments.
He added that Cisco’s social impact strategy aims to improve access to technology and promote inclusion, including in conflict-affected regions such as Borno State.
Cisco’s initiatives form part of broader efforts to link digital skills, connectivity and AI adoption to economic development in Nigeria.
Federal Government has launched a nationwide Artificial Intelligence (AI) capacity-building programme for teachers in Federal Unity Colleges, with about 11,700 educators set to acquire digital skills aimed at improving classroom instruction and preparing students for a technology-driven future.
The initiative advanced with the signing of the Terms of Reference (ToR) between the Federal Ministry of Education and ICEDT Consult Limited, paving the way for the nationwide implementation of the AI Teacher Capacity Development Programme.
The programme, to be implemented through the ministry’s Education Support Services Department, is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to modernise Nigeria’s education sector, strengthen teacher professionalism and equip students with skills required in the digital economy under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Director of the Education Support Services Department, Gabriel Amudipe, described the initiative as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s teaching workforce and the future of education.
He said the nationwide rollout followed the successful completion of a pilot phase conducted in selected Federal Unity Colleges.
According to him, the implementation model developed by ICEDT Consult Limited will ensure effective coordination and quality delivery of the programme across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Amudipe urged officials responsible for monitoring the project to ensure strict compliance with the implementation guidelines and maintain the standards achieved during the pilot phase.
“The ministry remains committed to supporting innovative initiatives that strengthen teacher professionalism, improve learning outcomes and promote the responsible integration of emerging technologies into education,” he said.
Earlier, the Deputy Director of the Education Support Services Department, Oladele Fapohunda, described the programme as a strategic intervention designed to deepen digital innovation across Federal Unity Colleges.
He stressed that collaboration among all stakeholders would be essential to achieving the objectives of the initiative nationwide.
Also speaking, the Head of Strategic Partnerships and Learning Scientist at ICEDT Consult Limited, Dr Abdulrahman Orosanya, said the Federal Government approved the national rollout after the successful pilot implementation in six Federal Unity Colleges representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
According to Orosanya, the pilot demonstrated the potential of Artificial Intelligence to improve lesson planning, classroom delivery, assessment methods and teachers’ productivity.
He said the nationwide implementation would strengthen teachers’ digital competencies, improve instructional delivery and support the government’s vision of building a technology-driven education system capable of producing globally competitive graduates equipped with 21st-century skills.
The ceremony ended with the formal signing of the Terms of Reference by officials of the Federal Ministry of Education and ICEDT Consult Limited, signalling the commencement of preparations for full implementation across all Federal Unity Colleges.
The ministry said the programme would directly train about 11,700 teachers, while thousands of students across the country’s Federal Unity Colleges are expected to benefit through improved classroom instruction, increased digital innovation and the responsible application of Artificial Intelligence in teaching and learning.
It reaffirmed its commitment to working with relevant stakeholders to modernise Nigeria’s education system, improve teacher quality and deliver inclusive, equitable and future-ready education nationwide.
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