The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Meanwhile, Italian prosecutors allege that she and Jonathan received kickbacks from oil majors ENI and Shell as part of a $1.3-billion deal for an offshore oil block in Nigeria.
Charges relating to the same oil block deal have also been filed against the oil majors and some senior Nigerian politicians.
Jonathan and Alison-Madueke are not named in the suit but the former president is under pressure from parliament to answer questions about the so-called Malabu deal.
Finally, Diezani-Madueke was arrested in London in October 2015 in connection with a British probe into international corruption and money laundering, but she was freed on bail.
– ‘Morale booster’ –
As the international cases pile up, anti-graft campaigners hope the growing body of evidence will boost current President Muhammadu Buhari’s faltering war on corruption.
Several high-profile figures in Jonathan’s government have been charged with corruption since Buhari came to power, however so far there have been no major convictions.
Still, some activists believe the overseas cases will serve as a powerful example of justice.
Debo Adeniran, of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders lobby group, said the latest cases involving Alison-Madueke, Aluko and Omokore could be a “morale booster”.
“Once a conviction is got abroad, the right signal will be sent to all looters that the judgment day has come,” he said.
“The fight against corruption will receive a boost. At last, the chickens are coming home to roost.”
Dolapo Oni, an oil analyst with Ecobank, said that in contrast to Nigeria’s sluggish courts, the overseas corruption cases may be concluded faster.
But whatever positive impact that may have, fears remain that with Buhari on indefinite medical leave, his anti-corruption war is losing momentum.
Leading Nigerian lawyer Festus Keyamo said the cases demonstrated the need fundamentally to overhaul the NNPC — and to investigate just how far up corruption went in the ruling elite.
“The big unanswered questions: is it possible one Minister allegedly stole so much without the knowledge, connivance & approval of the C-in-C (commander-in-chief)?”, he tweeted.
