Diezani was Not Arrested, Only Invited, Says Family
09 Oct 2015
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-
Madueke
Likens online attacks to cyber terrorism
Claims passport was never seized
Ejiofor Alike
The family of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, Thursday broke its silence on the travails
of the ex-minister in London, denying her much-publicised arrest
and detention by the British National Crime Agency over
allegations of bribery and corruption.
A statement by the family’s lawyer, Oscar Onwudiwe, also
described as false a publication by an online news media that
Diezani’s step son, Ugonna, owns three properties in the United
States, stressing that two of the properties were purchased in
1995 and 1997, when Ugonna was eight and 10 years old,
respectively, “while the family or a distant relation has no link
whatsoever with the third property mentioned by the online
publication”.
The lawyer, who claims to also represent Diezani’s mother’s
family (Agama,) also stated that neither Ugonna, Somze nor Abiye
or anyone related to the two families was picked up or arrested
by anybody whatsoever.
He stated that at no time was the former minister’s passport
seized, stressing that she was “merely invited, and she honoured
it promptly”.
Onwudiwe pointed out that despite all the frenzy over the former
petroleum minister, not even one reporter or journalist had tried to
contact the family to verify any of the publications.
He said: “This may be because they know the stories are false
but it feeds the mood of the moment; hence, the silence from
Diezani all along.
It is worth emphasising that Mrs Alison-Madueke
was never arrested or detained and her passport was never
seized. She was merely invited, and she honoured it promptly.”
The two families further stated that in this era of cyber terrorism,
decency dictates that one should respond to false and
defamatory allegations with silence.
“But there is a limit to how much any reasonable person can bear
the tactics of these cyber terrorists. We all know that what makes
a lie fly is the little truth contained therein. This happens to be the
weapon used by most online news media to feed their weird
obsession with defaming highly placed people,” their lawyer
added.
media frenzy against the former petroleum minister by a section
of the mass media.
According to him, the Madueke family has no issue with any
persons from the family being invited anywhere in the world to
answer questions about their private or official conduct, adding
that the family believes in law and order, honour and due
process.
Onwudiwe however alleged a deliberate and vicious campaign to
demonise members of the Madueke and Agama families, with all
manners of frivolous allegations that have no bearing in truth.
The lawyer stated that the online news media even called the
property allegedly owned in the United States by Ugonna as
“posh” and went on to state the addresses.
The attorney described the publication as lies, stressing that
Ugonna has no property anywhere in the United States and has
never owned one.
“The USA is a country which runs on transparency, accountability
and technology. A little honest effort by the online news media
would have provided in a few minutes the true ownership of the
properties at issue,” Onwudiwe said.
According to him, the 11711 Scooter Lane (a three-bedroom
town house) in Fairfax, Virginia, was acquired by the Madueke
family in 1997 when Ugonna was only 10 years old.
He further clarified that Ugonna’s siblings lived in this property
while attending George Mason University in Virginia, USA.
The lawyer stated that records available to the appropriate
authorities in the United States can also confirm that 13116 Silver
Maple Court in Bowie, Maryland, USA belongs to an uncle of the
Madueke siblings and was purchased in 1995 when Ugonna was
only eight years old.
“As a student of the University of Maryland in 2002, Ugonna
stayed with his uncle at the said address. All of this was before
Mrs. Diezani was appointed to government office,” he added.
He denied that Alison-Madueke or a distant relation has anything
to do with the ownership of No. 4227 Summit Manor Court in
Virginia.
“It is evident that what the online news media did was to turn on
an internet search engine and maliciously reported that every
property where Ugonna Madueke has ever lived in the United
States or used as his address must belong to him.
The
description of the properties as posh was the icing on the
propaganda cake. This is not only unprofessional, as it offends
the tenets of journalism, it is clearly not in resonance with good
conscience,” Onwudiwe explained.
He also cited another allegation by the online news media that
Ugonna and his cousins registered a company by the name
Hadley Petroleum Solutions Limited which they used to deal in
Nigerian crude oil sales.
He acknowledged that as young men bubbling with enthusiasm
and fantasy, they actually registered a company but after two
years of no jobs, the company folded up.
According to the lawyer, the company never had a bank account,
let alone being a trader of Nigeria’s crude oil, adding that the
online news media lied in its claim.
He also noted that the online news media took its campaign to
the in-laws of the Maduekes by alleging that Mrs. Beatrice
Agama, the 81-year-old mother of Diezani, owns a house in the
United Kingdom.
Onwudiwe described the allegation as a lie, stressing that Mrs.
Agama has no house or property in the United Kingdom.
“She has been staying in a rented two-bedroom flat from where
she is receiving medical attention for a broken femur. Her son,
Timi Agama, who has been living in the UK for decades, used to
have a house in the UK long before his sister was appointed to
government and he sold it long ago. Since then, he has no house
in the UK. Archbishop Doye Agama of the Apostolic Pastoral
Congress in Manchester, who is in his 60s, is a successful
professional and consultant well known amongst his peers, but he
does not own Unit 8 Quebec Building in Manchester which the
online newspaper ascribed to him,” Onwudiwe explained.
He also accused the mainstream media in Nigeria of alleging that
the former petroleum minister attempted to purchase a property
on Hyde Park Street in London “for a whooping amount which
embarrassingly ranges from £12.5 million sterling to £13 billion
sterling”.
Onwudiwe said: “This claim is utterly false and laughable, for the
amounts mentioned are only in the imagination of the reporters.
This property is quite popular.
It belongs to a well-known
eminently successful Nigerian entrepreneur who would also find
this allegation embarrassing as the intention to sell the property
has neither been contemplated nor disclosed to any person.
“The Madueke family, like most other families, has its own
challenges. For instance, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has been
receiving treatment for cancer in the UK which started while she
was in office.
The health crisis has unfortunately exacerbated in
recent times.
She completed months of chemotherapy just last
week and she is scheduled to undergo surgery next week in
London.
Shoe week
The family has been bearing this challenge with prayers
and as much grace and fortitude as possible; and would plead
with all reasonable Nigerians to pray for her recovery so that she
can face this allegation and give account of her stewardship. Yes,
she can—and very well, too.”
According to the family lawyer, Ugonna’s father, Rear Admiral
Allison Amaechina Madueke (rtd), has been in Lagos and working
in his office, adding that “the lies about his having travelled with a
team of lawyers should please stop.”
Their lawyer added that the Madueke family had taken a decision
on how to appropriately deal with those who are on a mission to
soil their hard-earned family name.
-Thisday
Post a Comment