Diezani forfeits Abuja mansions, luxury cars to FG

Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the final forfeiture of two Abuja properties and two luxury cars belonging to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, to the Federal Government.

The two properties are located at Plot 1854 Mohammed Mahashir Street and No. 6, Aso Drive in Abuja’s highbrow Asokoro and Maitama Districts, respectively, and are valued at $2,674,418 and N380m.

The luxury cars are a black BMW saloon with chassis number B8CV54V66629 and registration number RBC155 DH and a black Jaguar saloon with chassis number SAJAA.20 GRDMv43376, valued at N36m.

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The judge gave the order forfeiting the assets to the Federal Government while ruling on the application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, in suit No. 1122/2021 and Suit No. 1123/2021, asking for the final forfeiture of the assets.

The EFCC, in a statement on Monday, said the commission had on November 29, 2021, secured the interim forfeiture of the assets in a ruling on a separate motion ex-parte filed on September 27, 2021, which prayed the court to order the interim forfeiture of the assets on the grounds of reasonable suspicion that they were proceeds of unlawful activities.

 The statement read, “In granting the interim forfeiture order, Justice Olajuwon had ordered the EFCC to publish a notice in a national newspaper, inviting anyone with an interest in the assets to show the reason why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The court consequently adjourned till January 22, 2022, for a report.

 “In compliance with the order of the court, the forfeiture order was published in Thisday Newspaper of Wednesday, April 6, 2022. In the absence of any contestation of the interim order, the court today forfeited the properties to the Federal Government.”