London Court Clears Diezani Alison-Madueke Of Bribery Allegations

[00:00:01]Harry, welcome back.

[00:00:02]Straight out final conversation, years of investigations and courtroom proceedings against a former Minister for Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, have culminated in her acquittal on all bribery charges by London court. Alison-Madueke was cleared following a high-profile trial at the Southwark Crown Court in London.

[00:00:26]Diezani Alison-Madueke cleared of all bribery charges.

[00:00:30]>> in London trial.

[00:00:32]>> Did this come to you as a surprise?

[00:00:35]>> Um I think somehow I felt that she would escape.

[00:00:45]You know why?

[00:00:46]>> Mhm.

[00:00:47]>> I think around 2016 as we had an episode of um Journalist Hangout where I said I wasn't sure that um they would find something >> something incriminating against her because the London Metropolitan Police is very efficient.

[00:01:13]>> Yes.

[00:01:14]>> Now they've been investigating this woman.

[00:01:18]They They seized her passport in 2015.

[00:01:22]>> 2015?

[00:01:23]>> Yes, shortly after I left >> You left her.

[00:01:24]>> um Nigeria.

[00:01:27]And they had been investigating her for corruption.

[00:01:33]And I felt that ah it's been such a long time and they have not found anything >> incriminating >> incriminating against her.

[00:01:42]What usually happens is they are not like us here.

[00:01:47]Until they found cast iron evidence against you they are not likely to bring you to the for trial.

[00:01:56]>> Okay.

[00:01:57]>> So, they are usually they they they take their time.

[00:02:02]Because it didn't take this long before they had the Maureen convicted.

[00:02:07]>> Maureen convicted, yes. That's true.

[00:02:08]>> Yes.

[00:02:09]It didn't take this long before they got Alamesia >> Alamesia >> convicted. So, I've been wondering why it was taking that long.

[00:02:22]And at a point I concluded that maybe this woman had covered her tracks so well and that they couldn't find um any smoking gun >> Yes.

[00:02:32]>> against her. And and this is what has happened.

[00:02:36]This does not in any way say, "Oh, she's free of wrongdoing."

[00:02:42]>> Okay.

[00:02:42]>> But if you cannot find evidence to convict a person, even if that person committed the offense, >> Mhm.

[00:02:51]>> and you can't find the right >> of evidence >> the evidence, you have to acquit. It's just remember the matter of the Equan.

[00:03:00]>> Okay.

[00:03:01]>> The lawyer in the O.J. Simpson's case.

[00:03:03]>> O.J. Simpson case.

[00:03:04]>> And they brought the gloves.

[00:03:06]And the lawyer kept saying, "The gloves don't fit." And if the gloves don't fit, you must acquit.

[00:03:12]>> Exactly.

[00:03:13]>> At the end of the day, >> Mhm.

[00:03:14]>> yet many many uh Americans >> believe that O.J.

[00:03:19]>> O.J.

[00:03:20]Simpson committed But the law is by nature free of emotions.

[00:03:27]>> Mhm.

[00:03:28]>> No matter how we feel about the matter, if they can't find evidence, there's nothing. Even the brother, Doyin Agama, >> Mhm.

[00:03:41]>> they charged Doyin Agama and Olatimbun along with her.

[00:03:44]>> Yeah, okay.

[00:03:45]>> Both of them too.

[00:03:46]>> Both of them were also >> I acquitted.

[00:03:49]>> because they they they thought that Diezani received bribes >> On her behalf.

[00:03:55]>> To fund his church.

[00:03:59]But again, they couldn't lay their hands on solid solid evidence.

[00:04:02]>> Evidence.

[00:04:03]>> You know? So, they had to let him go.

[00:04:06]The same thing with the oil executive, Kola Aluko.

[00:04:09]You know, I mean they >> Okay.

[00:04:11]>> That was also charged along with her.

[00:04:13]>> Mhm.

[00:04:14]>> So, we had hoped that, okay, this woman eventually go to jail. Let me remind Nigerians of something that happened.

[00:04:22]>> Okay.

[00:04:23]>> Diezani pleaded that she wanted to come and defend herself in Nigeria.

[00:04:29]>> Nigeria.

[00:04:30]>> Before Justice Ajumogobia.

[00:04:33]What did we see? Our then Attorney General of Federation said, "No."

[00:04:39]That that the >> Stay back.

[00:04:41]>> Yes, stay back there because he was convinced that a system >> Mhm.

[00:04:47]>> that delivered justice in respect of Ibori >> Yes.

[00:04:51]>> that sent Ibori to jail, sent Ibori's wife to jail, sent Ibori's lawyer to jail would not fail to find this woman guilty. So, he then said, "No." He opposed that motion.

[00:05:07]And the woman was then had to remain in the UK.

[00:05:12]>> You know?

[00:05:13]So, but at the end of the day, this is the nature of the law. If you can't find evidence >> Evidence.

[00:05:19]>> You just have to >> If the gloves don't fit, you must acquit.

[00:05:24]Apologies to the late >> [laughter] >> lawyer, Cochran.

[00:05:27]>> Yeah, okay. I mean, what what do you make of this? What do reputation?

[00:05:32]>> And where where where >> That is why it's not the it's not always the best to engage [snorts] in media trial to convict people before they are found to have been guilty. And the owners of the law that you have to prove beyond reasonable doubt >> Mhm.

[00:05:47]>> that is beyond all shadow of doubt. You have to prove and ascertain your case.

[00:05:51]We have had cases of people who are executed in US after 30 years of their execution. They now discover that they didn't commit the offense. So I think we should jail for rape.

[00:06:01]So so I think we should allow the law to work.

[00:06:04]But we are so impatient with the rule of law in Nigeria. We have even judged people to be guilty. But you get some somebody get a convincing evidence and that is what beyond reasonable doubt is all about. If it is not convincing there's no point jailing people.

[00:06:20]>> No no the issue is the person is yes yes the reputation of damage >> The thing is that now for the let me tell you something for the media it's a lesson for us.

[00:06:30]>> Okay for the media >> For the media until somebody has been found guilty. Don't say use alleged yeah because if at the end of the day the person is discharged by the court he can sue.

[00:06:40]>> This is the same way they kept telling Mago was a thief. Mago stole money. Mago has millions of dollars inside his house.

[00:06:50]They went they checked the house they didn't find anything. When I was defending Mago at that time it seemed I was the only one. I said I was certain that this man didn't steal any money.

[00:06:59]People were calling me to say Gidado don't put your integrity don't invest your integrity on one man. You cannot trust every Nigerian. Absolute nonsense.

[00:07:08]You can't say that every Nigerian is a thief. There are some Nigerians today no matter what you do to them they will not steal anything that does not belong to them. And there are many people like that. Even when the police as we abuse the police there are policemen that they would rather die than take a bribe in this country. And we know some of them.

[00:07:28]So to conclude that every you can't trust any Nigerian the way they were saying about Mago at the end of the day was Mago not vindicated?

[00:07:34]>> That's true.

[00:07:35]>> Even the police eventually had to promote him to AIG because there was nothing in the report that they submitted about him. Because who should be the couldn't get him this way. The only house he has in Karu, he has only one house and it is in Karu. Even that house is not something that you can say somebody built it proceeds of crime. And they had built it even before he became the chairman. So, let's not conclude that somebody is corrupt until the trial has ended.

[00:08:07]You can't you can say all kinds of things but this same system we've seen it jail people in the past based on evidence.

[00:08:17]So, if they are saying that they don't have evidence to jail this woman, so be it. Maybe in future there will be another case brought against her but as it stands as it stands that's what the law says. You have to go by it.

[00:08:30]All right, gentlemen, this is a fine place for us to leave it.

[00:08:35]Thank you so much for doing this with us. BK, thank you very much. Appreciate you. And that's it on Journalist Hangout today. Join us tomorrow for another episode of the program. You can watch the repeat broadcast of this episode tonight at 11. Join us on Sunday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. for Journalist Hangout on Sunday. We are on YouTube at youtube.com/TVCNewsNigeria.

[00:08:56]I am Binger Oresanya. Bye for now and God bless Nigeria.