Diezani forfeits $38m Banana Island estate, $3m, N85m cash

A property said to belong to former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has been ordered to be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government.

The forfeiture order for the property located at Banana Island, Lagos and purchased for $37.5 million in 2013, was given by a Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Chuka Obiozor on Wednesday.

The court papers presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), designated the property as Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista Plot 1, Zone N, Federal Government Layout, Banana Island Foreshore Estate.

It has 24 apartments, 18 flats and six penthouses.

The court further ordered for the temporary forfeiture of the sums of $2,740,197.96 and N84,537,840.70, said to be part of the rent collected on the property.

The funds according to the EFCC were found in a Zenith Bank account number 1013612486.

The temporary forfeiture orders were sequel to an ex parte application brought before the court by counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Anselem Ozioko.

The EFCC said it reasonably suspected that the property was acquired with proceeds of alleged unlawful activities of Diezani, and prayed for the temporary forfeiture of the property and funds.

The ex parte application was made pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, No. 14, 2006 and Section 44(2)(k) of the constitution.

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Respondents in the application were Diezani, a legal practitioner, Afamefuna Nwokedi, and a company, Rusimpex Limited.

Justice Obiozor ordering for the temporary seizing of the property and the funds, also directed that the order should be published in a national newspaper.

He then adjourned the matter till August 7, 2017 for anyone interested in the property and funds to appear before the court.

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