The proceedings, it was learnt, are at the instance of the UK Central Authorities, requiring witnesses to testify from Nigeria to the UK trial court, where Justice Thornton is presiding.
The prosecution in the ongoing corruption trial of former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke at Southwark Crown Court has presented testimony from its fifth witness. The evidence was delivered during a virtual session held on Thursday before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The prosecution fielded four witnesses on Wednesday in the proceedings being conducted before Justice James Omotosho in accordance with an existing Mutual Assistance In Criminal Matters Act, 2018 between Nigeria and the UK.
The proceedings, it was learnt, are at the instance of the UK Central Authorities, requiring witnesses to testify from Nigeria to the UK trial court, where Justice Thornton is presiding.
Testifying on Thursday, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Chinedu Eneanya,
confirmed that his employer got a request from the UK authority to review documents recovered during the raid on Alison-Madueke’s residence in Nigeria.
Eneanya said the documents were recovered from her house on Oct. 2, 2015 and that Abdulrasheed Bawa, who later became the Chairman of the EFCC was the investigating officer at the time.
The witness said the inventory of the recovered documents were done by Bawa.
Under cross-examination by Diezani’s lawyer, Eneanya agreed that the documents recovered from the ex-minister’s residence were seized since 2015.
The witness said he was already an operative of the EFCC on October 2, 2015 when the search was conducted on Diezani’s residence, adding that he was employed in the agency April 2006.
The witness admitted being part of the team that searched the former minister’s residence, adding that his team started the examination of the documents in late December 2025 following the request.
Eneanya said he had anything to do with the exhibits until last year December, adding he was not part of the investigating team that conducted the search on the residence.
He said the team was provided with inventory of the documents in the exhibits by Bawa.
Following complaints by a lawyer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Olubunmi Ikupolati, that efforts to bring the second witness were unsuccessful, Justice James Omotosho adjourned hearing till a further date.
