Ozekhome: Diezani didn’t acquire $52.8m assets — she was linked to sell a narrative

Mike Ozekhome, counsel to Diezani Alison-Madueke, a former minister of petroleum resources, says his client did not acquire the $52.88 million Galactica assets.

Ozekhome said Alison-Madueke’s name was attached to the assets “to sell the storyline” and tarnish the image of the former minister using “a bouquet of consistent, persistent and unrelenting cocktail of falsehoods and misinformation”.

BACKGROUND

In March 2023, the US department of justice announced the final resolution of two civil cases on the forfeiture of the luxury assets laundered in and through the country, in a case involving Alison-Madueke and her associates.

Alison-Madueke’s associates named in the forfeiture case are Kola Aluko, a Nigerian businessman, and Jide Omokore, chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited.

The US government had said Alison-Madueke and her associates purchased luxury real estate in California and New York as well as the Galactica Star, a 65-metre superyacht, using “proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts”.

Alison-Madueke was minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015.

She has been facing litigation over alleged corruption perpetrated during her stint as minister.

On January 10, the Nigerian and United States governments signed an asset return agreement on $52.88 million recovered from the Galactica assets.

Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation, had said $50 million of the repatriated fund will be “utilised through” the World Bank “to partly fund” the rural electrification project.

He added that the remaining part of the fund will be disbursed as a grant to the International Institute for Justice (IIJ) to support the “rule of law and counter-terrorism” project.

‘SHE NEVER SET EYES ON THE YACHT’

In a statement, Ozekhome, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said Galactica yacht was acquired by Aluko, who he said had been in the oil and gas business before Alison-Madueke became minister.

The lawyer said the former minister was only involved in the final stage of the contract linked to the assets.

“The yacht Galactica was neither owned nor ever used by our client. DAM (Diezani Alison-Madueke) has in fact never set her eyes on the yacht,” Ozekhome said.

“Kola Aluko is an experienced businessman who had been in business well before DAM came into office as HMPR.

“The only tenuous basis for deliberately linking DAM to the said yacht is the false narrative that the Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) which were entered into between Kola Aluko & Jide Omokore’s Atlantic Energy companies and NNPC, were allegedly corruptly awarded to the said companies by DAM.

“DAM was not the GMD of the NNPC and so she did not and could not have awarded the said contracts.

“It was our client’s statutory duty as the HMPR at the final stage of any contract process, to make final signatory and approval on behalf of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR).

“However, NNPC would, as always, have first vetted and carried out all due diligence which include necessary operational and contractual checks and procedures. That would not have involved and did not in fact involve DAM as the HMPR.”

Ozekhome claimed that a federal high court in Abuja had ruled that “the Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) between NNPC and the Atlantic Companies were validly entered into between the said companies and the NNPC”.

The senior advocate said despite his client’s “conscientious” service to the country as minister, her name has been subjected to “grave unproven allegations that are demonstrably false and patently ill-motivated”.

“We plead, as her lawyers, with all and sundry that she should be accorded fair hearing and that the process of these UK court proceedings be allowed to take their natural course to avoid prejudice to her in the ongoing subjudice UK proceedings against her,” he added.

“Those purveyors and peddlers who habitually spin these outrightly false, unfounded, defamatory, unintelligent and indefensible narratives to denigrate and humiliate her should please find better use of their time and leave DAM alone.

“Let the law take its natural course without interference. We humbly pray.”