Kinsmen of the former Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, have called for an end to what they described as a prolonged legal and public ordeal she has faced over the past ten years, despite her not being convicted of any crime in Nigeria.

The group, under the aegis of Concerned Atissa Traditional Leaders, urged authorities to seek “a resolution that respects the dignity of our royal house and the rights of a Nigerian citizen who has served her country at its highest levels.”

They noted that after a decade of investigations, both within Nigeria and internationally, the former minister had not been convicted of any offence in the country.

The Paramount Ruler of Yenaka Community, HRH Ovie Omeleh, who spoke to reporters in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, said Alison-Madueke’s service to the nation followed a royal and intellectual lineage established by her father, HRM Frederick Agama, Ogbotom Edede VI of Atissa.

According to him, her father rose to a managerial position at Shell-BP Nigeria and instilled a tradition of professionalism and discipline in the family.

Alison-Madueke, as a second-generation Shell professional, carried the family’s legacy of excellence into the highest levels of corporate and public service.

He maintained that the continued legal scrutiny without a conviction had taken a toll on the family and the Atissa community, adding that it was time for a resolution that would restore her dignity.

The statement read in part, “For more than ten years, our daughter has lived under the weight of a protracted legal and public ordeal that has resulted in effective exile. We observe this situation with a growing sense of injustice. A decade of international and domestic investigation has passed, yet the central fact remains: Chief (Mrs) Diezani Allison-Madueke has not been convicted of any crime in Nigeria. The Atissa people are patient, but we are also just people.”

“The Atissa people stand by their daughter. We do not forget the leader who facilitated the growth of our youths and the strengthening of our traditional institutions…..We demand a fair and orderly conclusion to this ten-year chapter….It is time for this protracted separation to end and for the narrative to return to the truth of her contributions to her state and her nation.” (The Nation)

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