Abuja — The Head of National Central Bureau (NCB) INTERPOL, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Garba Baba Umar, yesterday revealed that the government of United Kingdom (UK) turned down the request of the international police organisation to repatriate former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke.
Umar, who spoke on the sidelines of an investigative hearing by an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives on the illegal sale of Nigeria's crude oil chaired by Hon. Mark Gbillah, said all processes of mutual legal assistance (MLA) were followed, but the government refused.
He said Madueke also went to court in the UK to checkmate the Nigerian system.
Specifically, Umar was responding to a question posed to him by a member of the committee, Hon. Jude Ngaji, representing Ogoja/Yala federal constituency of Cross River State.
Ngaji, had followed up on a question asked earlier by Gbillah.
In response to the question, Umar said his efforts paid off in bringing back former head of pension funds, Abdulrasheed Maina and the former attorney general of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke to face criminal prosecution.
He said: "The Director of Public Prosecution from the ministry we have been doing issues of extradition, issue of reparation and so on, this is the normal procedure that has been in existence.
"The NCB deals with the head of all correspondences if request for assistance come to my table. They write to me EFCC, NIS, all other agencies asking me to assist them on a matter.
"All I need to do just like what the chairman said is to scrutinise the papers, go through the documents that was brought before me.
"You can't place somebody on a watchlist or red notice, ordinarily I would have done it, but I can't do that because they have to show me evidences and we have to help from the other person. It's the normal procedure Mr. Chairman.
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"I am not privy to the investigation and I am also not privy to the action of what the Ministry of Justice or the courts are doing. All I know, I receive a request and in the normal process Mr. chairman and honourable members of this committee, it is my duty, it is my responsibility to check before I act."
"With respect of assistance, Mr. Chairman, seeking for assistance, just like what happened if you remember, we repatriated many Nigerians who were alleged to have swindled the Nigerian government. I went personally and brought Maina from Niger; I brought the former Attorney General of the Federation from Dubai and many other Nigerians who absconded, we brought them back to face justice and those who are in Nigeria hiding we took them back to their various countries to face justice."
Responding to Ngaji's question of not mentioning about bringing Deziani back to the country, Umar said the UK government refused to cooperate.
"The issue of Diezani, a warrant of arrest was issued. I am sorry to say the government of the UK turned down our request. We followed MLA. You can check, that is mutual legal assistance to bring her back home. She also went to court."
