Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, has strongly refuted allegations connecting her to the recently repatriated $52.8 million from the United States to Nigeria.
In a statement issued through her counsel, Professor Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Alison-Madueke clarified that the funds originated from the sale of assets owned by Nigerian oil magnate Kola Aluko, not her.
The statement, titled “There is No Such Thing as Diezani Loot,” dismissed the claims as part of a calculated effort to tarnish her reputation.
“We note with concern the recent deliberate attempt to link her with what has been described as a civil forfeiture of a yacht, Galactica, the sale of which was said to have yielded $52.8 million to the U.S. government; which sum has since been repatriated to Nigeria,” the statement read.
Alison-Madueke emphasized that she had no involvement in the purchase, use, or forfeiture of the yacht and accused critics of orchestrating a campaign of misinformation.
“This is a clear example of the mischievous and cruel sport of tarnishing her image through a consistent and persistent cocktail of falsehoods and misinformation,” the statement continued.
She reiterated that the yacht, Galactica, was publicly known to belong to Aluko, who used it until it was forfeited to the U.S. authorities.
“The yacht Galactica, from information readily available in the public domain and open sources, was purchased by Mr. Kola Aluko, who had used the vessel until he agreed to its forfeiture to the United States of America,” the statement clarified.
Alison-Madueke described the narrative linking her to the recovered funds as “false and defamatory” and urged those propagating such claims to cease further defamation.
“The purveyors of this line of misinformation term it ‘name-and-shame.’ To sell the storyline, the architects ensured they attached Diezani’s name to a recovered yacht which is not in any way linked to her. They now falsely termed it ‘Diezani loot.’ Nothing of the sort ever happened,” she said.
The former minister called for an end to the attacks on her character, accusing detractors of pushing a broader agenda to vilify her.
The $52.8 million, recovered by the U.S. government from assets linked to Aluko, was recently repatriated to Nigeria as part of efforts to recover stolen public funds. Aluko has been implicated in cases of money laundering and financial crimes, which have drawn international scrutiny.