Likens online attacks to cyber terrorism
Claims passport was never seized
Ejiofor Alike
The
family of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani
Alison-Madueke, Thursday broke its silence on the travails of the
ex-minister in London, denying her much-publicised arrest and detention
by the British National Crime Agency over allegations of bribery and
corruption.
A statement by the family’s lawyer, Oscar Onwudiwe,
also described as false a publication by an online news media that
Diezani’s step son, Ugonna, owns three properties in the United States,
stressing that two of the properties were purchased in 1995 and 1997,
when Ugonna was eight and 10 years old, respectively, “while the family
or a distant relation has no link whatsoever with the third property
mentioned by the online publication”.
The lawyer, who claims to
also represent Diezani’s mother’s family (Agama,) also stated that
neither Ugonna, Somze nor Abiye or anyone related to the two families
was picked up or arrested by anybody whatsoever.
He stated that
at no time was the former minister’s passport seized, stressing that she
was “merely invited, and she honoured it promptly”.
Onwudiwe
pointed out that despite all the frenzy over the former petroleum
minister, not even one reporter or journalist had tried to contact the
family to verify any of the publications.
He said: “This may be
because they know the stories are false but it feeds the mood of the
moment; hence, the silence from Diezani all along. It is worth
emphasising that Mrs Alison-Madueke was never arrested or detained and
her passport was never seized. She was merely invited, and she honoured
it promptly.”
The two families further stated that in this era of
cyber terrorism, decency dictates that one should respond to false and
defamatory allegations with silence.
“But there is a limit to how
much any reasonable person can bear the tactics of these cyber
terrorists. We all know that what makes a lie fly is the little truth
contained therein. This happens to be the weapon used by most online
news media to feed their weird obsession with defaming highly placed
people,” their lawyer added.
Onwudiwe said the Madueke family was
appalled by the ongoing media frenzy against the former petroleum
minister by a section of the mass media.
According to him, the
Madueke family has no issue with any persons from the family being
invited anywhere in the world to answer questions about their private or
official conduct, adding that the family believes in law and order,
honour and due process.
Onwudiwe however alleged a deliberate and
vicious campaign to demonise members of the Madueke and Agama families,
with all manners of frivolous allegations that have no bearing in
truth.
The lawyer stated that the online news media even called
the property allegedly owned in the United States by Ugonna as “posh”
and went on to state the addresses.
The attorney described the
publication as lies, stressing that Ugonna has no property anywhere in
the United States and has never owned one.
“The USA is a country
which runs on transparency, accountability and technology. A little
honest effort by the online news media would have provided in a few
minutes the true ownership of the properties at issue,” Onwudiwe said.
According
to him, the 11711 Scooter Lane (a three-bedroom town house) in Fairfax,
Virginia, was acquired by the Madueke family in 1997 when Ugonna was
only 10 years old.
He further clarified that Ugonna’s siblings lived in this property while attending George Mason University in Virginia, USA.
The
lawyer stated that records available to the appropriate authorities in
the United States can also confirm that 13116 Silver Maple Court in
Bowie, Maryland, USA belongs to an uncle of the Madueke siblings and was
purchased in 1995 when Ugonna was only eight years old.
“As a
student of the University of Maryland in 2002, Ugonna stayed with his
uncle at the said address. All of this was before Mrs. Diezani was
appointed to government office,” he added.
He denied that
Alison-Madueke or a distant relation has anything to do with the
ownership of No. 4227 Summit Manor Court in Virginia.
“It is
evident that what the online news media did was to turn on an internet
search engine and maliciously reported that every property where Ugonna
Madueke has ever lived in the United States or used as his address must
belong to him. The description of the properties as posh was the icing
on the propaganda cake. This is not only unprofessional, as it offends
the tenets of journalism, it is clearly not in resonance with good
conscience,” Onwudiwe explained.
He also cited another allegation
by the online news media that Ugonna and his cousins registered a
company by the name Hadley Petroleum Solutions Limited which they used
to deal in Nigerian crude oil sales.
He acknowledged that as
young men bubbling with enthusiasm and fantasy, they actually registered
a company but after two years of no jobs, the company folded up.
According
to the lawyer, the company never had a bank account, let alone being a
trader of Nigeria’s crude oil, adding that the online news media lied in
its claim.
He also noted that the online news media took its
campaign to the in-laws of the Maduekes by alleging that Mrs. Beatrice
Agama, the 81-year-old mother of Diezani, owns a house in the United
Kingdom.
Onwudiwe described the allegation as a lie, stressing that Mrs. Agama has no house or property in the United Kingdom.
“She
has been staying in a rented two-bedroom flat from where she is
receiving medical attention for a broken femur. Her son, Timi Agama, who
has been living in the UK for decades, used to have a house in the UK
long before his sister was appointed to government and he sold it long
ago. Since then, he has no house in the UK. Archbishop Doye Agama of the
Apostolic Pastoral Congress in Manchester, who is in his 60s, is a
successful professional and consultant well known amongst his peers, but
he does not own Unit 8 Quebec Building in Manchester which the online
newspaper ascribed to him,” Onwudiwe explained.
He also accused
the mainstream media in Nigeria of alleging that the former petroleum
minister attempted to purchase a property on Hyde Park Street in London
“for a whooping amount which embarrassingly ranges from £12.5 million
sterling to £13 billion sterling”.
Onwudiwe said: “This claim is
utterly false and laughable, for the amounts mentioned are only in the
imagination of the reporters. This property is quite popular. It belongs
to a well-known eminently successful Nigerian entrepreneur who would
also find this allegation embarrassing as the intention to sell the
property has neither been contemplated nor disclosed to any person.
“The
Madueke family, like most other families, has its own challenges. For
instance, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has been receiving treatment for
cancer in the UK which started while she was in office. The health
crisis has unfortunately exacerbated in recent times. She completed
months of chemotherapy just last week and she is scheduled to undergo
surgery next week in London. The family has been bearing this challenge
with prayers and as much grace and fortitude as possible; and would
plead with all reasonable Nigerians to pray for her recovery so that she
can face this allegation and give account of her stewardship. Yes, she
can—and very well, too.”
According to the family lawyer, Ugonna’s
father, Rear Admiral Allison Amaechina Madueke (rtd), has been in Lagos
and working in his office, adding that “the lies about his having
travelled with a team of lawyers should please stop.”
Their
lawyer added that the Madueke family had taken a decision on how to
appropriately deal with those who are on a mission to soil their
hard-earned family name.
- Blogger Comment
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