travails and media trial of their daughter and wife Diezani....
THE TRUTH VERSUS THE MEDIA HYSTERIA AGAINST THE MADUEKE FAMILY
1. In this era of cyber terrorism, decency dictates that one should response
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.
2. The Madueke family is appalled at the ongoing media frenzy against Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke by a section of the mass media following an
invitation to her by the British authorities last Friday for reasons which have
yet to be disclosed. For the avoidance of doubt, the family would like to state
categorically that it has no issues with any persons from the family being
invited anywhere in the world to answer questions about their private or
official conduct. The Madueke family believes in law and order, honour and
due process.
3. However, it is clear that here is a deliberate and vicious campaign to
demonise members of the Madueke family, with all manner of frivolous
allegations. For example, an online news media gleefully published that Mr.
Ugonna Madueke "owns at least three properties in the United States." It even
called the properties "POSH" and went on to state the addresses. THEY LIED.
4. Mr. Ugonna Madueke has NO PROPERTY ANY WHERE 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.
5. For historical accuracy, the Madueke family avers without any fear of
contradiction that 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. Ugonna's siblings lived in this property while attending
George Mason University in Virginia, USA. Records available to the
appropriate authorities in the United States can also show 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 8 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. No Madueke or a distant relation has anything to do with
the ownership of No. 4227 Summit Manor Court in Virginia.
6. 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.
7. The online news media also reported that Ugonna and his cousins
registered a company by name Hadley Petroleum Solutions Limited which
they have been using to deal in Nigerian crude oil sales. As young men
bubbling with enthusiasm and fantasy, they registered a company but after
two years of no jobs, the company folded up. The company never had a bank
account, let alone being a trader of Nigeria's crude oil. They lied.
8. The online news media took its campaign to the in-laws of the Maduekes.
It claimed that Mrs. Beatrice Agama, the 81 year old mother of Mrs. Diezani
Madueke, owns a house in the United Kingdom. A LIE! 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.
9. As though to outdo the sensational allegations in the online
publication, the
mainstream media in Nigeria has been alleging that Mrs. Diezani attempted to
purchase a property on Hyde Park Street in London for a whooping amount
which embarrassingly ranges from 12.5 million sterling pounds to 13 billion
sterling pounds. 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.
10. It is worthy to note that despite all the frenzy over Mrs. Diezani Madueke,
not even one reporter or journalist has tried to contact the family to
verify any
of the rumors they have published with reckless abandon. 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.
11. The Madueke family, like most other families, have their 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.
12. The Madueke and Agama families would want the decent public to know
that neither Ugonna nor Somze or Abiye or anyone related to the two families
was picked up or arrested or invited for questioning by anybody whatsoever.
Ugonna's father (the Rear Admiral) has been in Lagos and working in his
office. The lies about his having travelled with a team of lawyers should
please stop. The Madueke family has taken a decision on how to appropriately
deal with those who are on a mission to soil their hard earned family name.
Signed for and on behalf of the Madueke and Agama families.
Barrister Oscar M. Onwudiwe.
Legal Attorney
