Not Yet Uhuru: Jide Omokore May Face Jail Term As Alison-Madueke Releases Fresh Implicating Facts

— Diezani Alison-Madueke, Jide Omokore, Albert Bassey

By Muyiwa Akinola and Adeola Idris

Despite Abuja Federal High Court, judgement of February 7th 2023 that discharged and acquitted Jide Omokore, chairman of Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited, of alleged fraud and money laundering in diversion of about $1.6 billion in proceeds of petroleum products belonging to the Nigerian government.

The oil mogul may soon pay another visit to the court and this time may also lead to something unexpected.

Mr Omokore and his co-defendants were arraigned in 2016 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on nine charges of criminal. They were accused of underhand dealings in connection to the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) existing between his companies and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

Mr Omokore is the first defendant in the matter while his companies, Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited and Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Limited, are the second and third defendants, respectively.

The EFCC accused Omokore of allegedly purchasing houses for a former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani-Alison-Madueke. He was equally accused of purchasing cars for some staff of the NNPC and some politicians.

The defendant, however, denied all the allegations, noting that the business deals he had with federal government agencies were legal and never a contravention of relevant laws.
Delivering judgment in the suit, justice Nnamdi Dimgba held that the EFCC failed to prove its case against the first, second and third defendants therefore Omokore was exonerated.

After hearing recordings of former Nigerian oil minister allegedly confronting two oil tycoons from whom she is accused of accepting bribes, after their relationships had broken down.

Prosecutors allege that Diezani Alison-Madueke was provided with “a life of luxury” in the UK, which they say was paid for by those who sought lucrative oil contracts from the Nigerian government.

In one conversation recorded on her phone, Alison-Madueke, 65, could be heard saying: “I will be happy to escort all of you to jail along with myself.”

Though she denied five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Southwark Crown Court heard how a Samsung phone belonging to the former minister was seized by UK investigators during her arrest in London in 2015.

On it were recordings from the previous year of two conversations Alison-Madueke had had, first with Olajide Omokore and then with Kolawole Aluko.

The two oil moguls are not on trial, but prosecutors allege they paid bribes to Alison-Madueke during her time as Nigeria’s petroleum resources minister, between 2010 and 2015.

The conversations were said to have taken place when Alison-Madueke allegedly believed both Omokore’s wife and Aluko were telling people they knew of information that could “take her (Alison-Madueke) down”.

In the first recording, from April 2014, Alison-Madueke could be heard telling Omokore: “We who are managing the thing have kept quiet. We’ve kept quiet… while people like your wife are busy singing all over the place.”

Raising her voice, the former minister said: “I do not react well to being blackmailed.”

The court also heard a second conversation, recorded one month later, between Alison-Madueke and Aluko, who could be heard being searched before the meeting began.

On the recording, Alison-Madueke expressed concern that Aluko’s “lavish, lascivious lifestyle” had attracted attention on the internet.

The former minister told Aluko she had already spoken about his “general behaviour, acquisition of assets, etc, asking you to be careful because intelligencer will start following you”.

Alison-Madueke said she was “really annoyed” to hear “this take her down, and information that you have on me”.

“I will be happy to escort all of you to jail along with myself,” she added. “You will be shocked what I will do because when it comes to that, I will come out and tell the Nigerian people this is what happened.

In the same vein, the trial of former Akwa Ibom State commissioner, Albert Bassey also had Omokore mentioned.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had, in 2019, arraigned Bassey on a seven-count charge for allegedly taking possession of six vehicles worth N204 million as bribes while serving as finance commissioner in Akwa Ibom.

Bassey reportedly collected one of the vehicles from Jide Omokore, an associate of Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources.

Omokore we realibly gathered had dealings with Akwa Ibom state government when he offered the vehicle to the former commissioner.

Now that the supreme court has affirmed the decisions of the trial court and court of appeal that convicted and sentenced Albert Bassey, former Akwa Ibom finance commissioner, to seven years in prison for fraud, the name Jude Omokore has resurfaced and with Alison-Madueke’s ongoing trial, the centre may not hold with Omokore as it has already been declared by the former Minister that; “I will be happy to escort all of you to jail along with myself.”