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Diezani Alison-Madueke’s Corruption Trial Begins In London Court

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Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London on Monday for the start of her corruption trial.

Alison-Madueke, who made history as Nigeria’s first female oil minister and the first woman to serve as OPEC president, has been on bail since her arrest in London in October 2015 and denies all six charges against her.

She was formally charged in 2023 by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) for allegedly accepting bribes between 2011 and 2015. The NCA stated at the time, “We suspect Diezani Alison-Madueke abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.”

The indictment claims Alison-Madueke received at least £100,000 ($134,000) in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, private jet flights, and access to multiple London properties. The charges also mention other benefits, including furniture, renovation work, staff for the properties, private school fees, and luxury gifts from designer brands such as Louis Vuitton.

Her trial is scheduled to start on Monday, January 26, and is expected to run for 10 to 12 weeks.

Two other individuals are also facing bribery charges in connection with the case: Doye Agama, who appeared via video link, and Olatimbo Ayinde, who was present in the court dock.

 

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Tinubu Okays ₦15bn For New Ogun Police Academy Campus

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President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new campus of the Nigeria Police Academy in Erinja, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State, alongside a special take-off grant of N15bn to fund the facility’s development.

A statement signed on Monday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the approval fulfils the provisions of the Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment) Act, 2021, which empowers the institution to operate as a multi-campus university across the country.

According to the statement, the ₦15 billion intervention fund will be sourced from the 2026 allocation of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and will finance priority infrastructure, academic facilities, student accommodation, and essential training assets for the new campus.

The decision to site the academy in Erinja followed a high-level consultative meeting involving the Minister of Police Affairs, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Deliberations at the meeting focused on critical considerations, including student intake capacity, funding sustainability, academic quality assurance, and the long-term manpower needs of the Nigeria Police Force, which is currently expanding its recruitment.

President Tinubu said that establishing additional campuses for the Police Academy is aimed at strengthening institutional governance, enhancing modern policing education, and bolstering national security.

“The intervention fund will be sourced from the TetFund 2026 allocation to finance priority infrastructure, academic facilities, student accommodation, and core training assets.

“A high-level consultative meeting involving the Minister of Police Affairs, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) recommended the siting of the new campus in Erinja.

“The meeting considered student intake capacity, funding realities, academic quality assurance, and the long-term needs of the Nigerian Police Force, which is currently recruiting more men.

“President Tinubu believes the expansion will strengthen institutional governance, modern policing education, and national security”, the statement said.

The Nigeria Police Academy, with its main campus in Wudil, Kano State, is a degree-awarding institution responsible for training officers of the Nigeria Police Force as part of ongoing efforts to improve professionalism and operational capacity within the country’s internal security framework.

 

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How 2018 Federal Legal Advice Exonerated Saraki In Offa Robbery Case

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In light of the Kwara State Government’s fresh prosecution of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his successor over the Offa robbery, fresh facts have emerged on why the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. E. U. (Etsu Umar) Mohammed gave the duo a clean bill of health.

The Federal Director of Public Prosecutions cleared former Senate President Bukola Saraki of involvement in the Offa bank robbery in 2018, citing no evidence of a connection.

It was gathered that the DPP reviewed a 16-page police report prepared and signed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and then head of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) at Force Headquarters, Abuja. The report detailed investigations into the April 5, 2018, multiple bank robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State.

The DPP in his first report dated June 22, 2018 and signed on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, prepared a five page legal advice in which he noted in paragraph 5 (f) that “for the Senate President (Saraki) and the Kwara State Governor (Ahmed), his office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects. Hence, it is our advice that further and thorough investigation in this regard be carried out”.

Following the submission of a second report by the police investigating team to his office on July 27, 2018, the DPP prepared a second legal advice, which was dated August 23, 2018. The three-page legal advice also has only three paragraphs.

In paragraph 3 (vi), he noted that “with regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide punishable with death”.

Both legal advices had recommended six people for prosecution. They are: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran, and Michael Adiukwu.

One of the suspects, Michael Adiukwu, later died in police custody, while the other five had since been tried at the High Court in Ilorin.

During the trial, the suspects revealed how they were coerced into incriminating Senator Bukola Saraki.

They mentioned several inducements dangled before them, including money and the promise of a visa to travel out of the country.

The suspects have since been convicted and their convictions confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The matter is now pending before the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

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₦400m Ransom Demanded As Gunmen Abduct Another Kwara Ruler

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Terrorists have abducted a traditional ruler in Olayinka community, located in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Salman Olátúnjí Aweda and are demanding a ₦400 million ransom for his release.

The abduction occurred on April 18, 2026, when armed men, suspected to be militia herdsmen, invaded the community and took the monarch, his wife, and another resident into the forest.

According to JomogNews, residents who witnessed the incident said the terrorists, numbering over 10, invaded the monarch’s residence around Saturday midnight, forced the door open, and abducted him alongside another person in the house.

The assailants reportedly led both victims into the bush.

Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, visited the community on Saturday on a sympathy visit and assured residents that efforts were underway to secure the monarch’s release.

“We are deeply concerned about this incident, and we are taking swift and decisive action in collaboration with security agencies,” he said.

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