The Westminster Magistrates Court in the United Kingdom (UK) has adjourned the hearing on the suit involving former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to November 2025.
Alison-Madueke has been on trial over an alleged £100,000 bribe.
The former minister is accused of receiving the bribe from a businessman, Christopher Aire, in exchange for contracts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
However, she has denied the allegations and claimed that she was a victim of political persecution.
Meanwhile, Bola Tinubu’s administration is also seeking Diezani’s repatriation to Nigeria over alleged corrupt dealings during her time as minister.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has submitted a warrant of arrest and request to the Crown Prosecution Services of the UK for the immediate extradition of Alison-Madueke.
The request, made on the orders of Tinubu, followed a written official request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the office of the AGF earlier in October.
The office of the AGF cited Section 2 (2) of Nigeria’s Extradition Act, CAP E25, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and the London Scheme of Extradition within the Commonwealth, otherwise known as “The Scheme,” a multilateral treaty that governs extradition between the UK and Nigeria.
Alison-Madueke has been living in London since 2015, after leaving office as minister.
She is also facing multiple charges of money laundering and fraud in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the EFCC has accused her of misappropriating billions of naira from the NNPC and other agencies under her supervision.
The former minister has challenged the extradition request in court and argued that she cannot get a fair trial in Nigeria due to political interference and media bias.
She has also applied for a permanent stay of proceedings in the UK court on the grounds of ill health.
The UK court has fixed November 2025 as the date for hearing both applications and deciding whether to grant or deny the extradition request.