A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday, issued
an interim order of forfeiture to the Federal
Government of $153.3 million belonging to a
former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani
Allison-Madueke .
The monies were said to be domiciled with three
Nigerian banks.
Justice Muslim Hassan gave the order following
exparte application filed by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) .
The commission averred that out of the total
sum, about N23 billion was domiciled with
Sterling Bank Plc. , N9 billion with First Bank
Plc., and about $5 million with Access Bank Plc.
After issuing the interim orders, the court also
issued 14 days to Sterling Bank and any other
interested party to appear and prove the
legitimacy of the monies, failing which the funds
would be permanently forfeited to the Federal
Government.
In an affidavit filed in support of the application,
an EFCC investigator, Moses Awolusi , claimed
that the anti-graft agency discovered through its
investigations, communication between Diezani
and a former Fidelity Bank Managing Director,
Nnamdi Okonkwo .
He said that sometime in December 2014, Diezani
invited Okonkwo to her office where they hatched
the plan of how the cash would be moved from
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
to Okonkwo for safe-keeping.
According to him, Diezani instructed Okonkwo to
ensure that the money was “neither credited into
any known account nor captured in any
transaction platforms” of Fidelity Bank.
Awolusi said that Okonkwo accepted and
implemented the deal leading to the movement of
the sums from NNPC to Fidelity Bank.
He said that two former Group Executive Directors
of Finance and Account of NNPC helped Diezani
to move the cash from NNPC Abuja to the
headquarters of Fidelity Bank in Lagos.
Counsel to EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo , moving the
exparte application on Friday, urged the court to
order an interim order of forfeiture.
He also urged the court to order Sterling Bank
and others who were joined as defendants to
appear in court and show why the funds should
not be permanently forfeited.
Oyedepo brought his application pursuant to
Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other
Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006 and Section
44(2) of the 1999 Constitution, and argued that
granting the application was in the interest of
justice.
Justice Hassan, after listening to submissions,
granted the orders.
He adjourned to the case to January 24 for the
respondents to appear in court to show why the
funds should not be permanently forfeited.
