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By Lukman Olabiyi
Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Lagos has ordered that a $37.5 million mansion on Banana Island, Lagos, linked to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The court made the order yesterday following a motion on notice argued before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
Besides, the order mandating forfeiture of the mansion, the court also ordered that $2,740,197.96 and N84,537,840.70 realised as rents on the property should equally be forfeited to the federal government.
EFCC had on July 19, 2017, obtained a court order to temporarily seize the property designated as Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista Plot 1, Zone N, Federal Government Layout, Banana Island Foreshore Estate, which is said to have 24 apartments, 18 flats and six penthouses.
The court had directed that the temporary forfeiture order be published in a newspaper and, then, adjourned till yesterday for anyone interested in the property and funds to appear to convince the court why they should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
At yesterday’s proceedings, EFCC’s counsel, Mr. Anselem Ozioko, told Justice Obiozor that the publication order had been complied with.
He, however, noted that despite going the extra length to personally serve the respondent, a company, Rusimpex Limited, they did not show up in court to contest the forfeiture order. In a short ruling, the judge held, “In the face of the publication, which I find in Exhibit B of the affidavit of compliance before me, and there being no responses from any interested party, I have no other option but to grant the orders as prayed.” The EFCC had earlier told the judge that the Banana Island mansion was reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities by Diezani.
The anti-graft agency said its investigations revealed that Diezani purchased the property sometime in 2013 at the price of $37.5 million, which she paid in cash.
According to the EFCC, the $37.5 million was moved straight from Diezani’s house in Abuja and paid into the seller’s First Bank account in Abuja.
“Nothing can be more suspicious than someone keeping such huge amounts in her apartment. Why was she doing that? To avoid attention.
“We are convinced beyond reasonable doubt because, as of the time this happened, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke was still in public service as the Minister of Petroleum Resources,” the EFCC lawyer, Ozioko, had told Justice Obiozor.
