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Diezani to forfeit N48.14bn alleged loot to Nigerian govt

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7 years ago

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Diezani to forfeit N48.14bn alleged loot to Nigerian govt
A former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke is to forfeit the sum of  $153,310,000 to the Federal government.
Three banks have been ordered by Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court Lagos, to hand over the money, N48.136 billion at exchange rate of N314 to the dollar, to the Federal Government.
The funds were allegedly looted and stashed in the banks.
According to the court ruling, the money which the former minister is accused to have siphoned from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government pending its prove of legitimacy or otherwise.
This was as Justice Hassan, gave the banks and any other interested party 14 days to appear before it to prove the legitimacy of the monies, failing which the funds would be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Sterling Bank has in its custody from the $153.3m a sum of N23, 446, 300,000, First Bank Plc N9, 080,000,000 while Access Bank has $5 million (N1.8 billion).
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on Friday appeared before the court with an ex parte application praying the court for temporary forfeiture of the funds.
An EFCC investigator, Moses Awolusi, had in a nine-paragraph affidavit filed in support of the ex parte application, argued that the anti-graft agency learnt through its investigations how sometime in December 2014 Diezani invited a former Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, to her office where they hatched the plan of how a cash sum of $153,310,000 would be moved from NNPC to Okonkwo to be saved for Diezani.
Awolusi went further to state that Diezani instructed Okonkwo to make sure that the money was neither credited into any known account nor captured in any transaction platforms of Fidelity Bank.
The presiding judge, Justice Hassan after listening to the application, ruled that the money be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government pending prove of its legitimacy or otherwise.

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0 Comments

  1. JOHNSON PETER

    January 7, 2017 at 7:04 am

    But I thought she was sick and had cancer, so how come she is forfeiting this money on sick bed or is she well now?

    Reply

  2. seyi jelili

    January 7, 2017 at 7:34 am

    uel Alayegbami
    If Federal government still drag matter with her, she will vomit more money than that. The woman was the most corrupt in Jonathan ‘s government and what she stole from our coffer can feed this nation for 10 years.

    Reply

    • chichi emerue

      January 7, 2017 at 7:53 am

      Hahahahaha. Did she steal more than the dasukigate? Make government allow Diezeni to have peace. She remains the best Nigeria minister of petroleum.

      Reply

  3. yanju omotodun

    January 7, 2017 at 7:40 am

    How I wish Diezeni could be wise to join Apc, all these cases will end and she will be free indeed.

    Reply

    • Joy Madu

      January 7, 2017 at 7:50 am

      Even though she joins Apc, buhari won’t allow her to go Scot free until she forfeit all the money she siphoned.

      Reply

  4. Animashaun Ayodeji

    January 7, 2017 at 8:02 am

    Are we supposed to pity Diezeni now? This isn’t a pure act of corruption and embezzlement, their should be no need for proof, let her forfeit the money to the federal government.

    Reply

    • Roland Uchendu Pele

      January 7, 2017 at 5:03 pm

      No need for proof, i tell you. That amount is too much for one person. The Nation has more need of it. It should be forfeited.

      Reply

  5. Margret Dickson

    January 7, 2017 at 8:06 am

    She’s stole the money, I think the word forfeit is wrongly used here. The money belongs to the federal government, and the FG is claiming what’s it’s own. Federal government is collecting its money Diezeni stole

    Reply

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