The appeal by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the definitive forfeiture of some assets held in Abuja by the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, was granted by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
The assets—two homes and two expensive cars—were ordered to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon on Monday.
The two homes, valued by the EFCC at $2,674,418 USD and N380,000,000, are situated at Plot 1854 Mohammed Mahashir Street in Asokoro and No. 6 Aso Drive in Maitama.
The two luxury vehicles, each worth N36,000,000, are a black BMW saloon with the chassis number B8CV54V66629 and the registered number RBC155 DH and a black Jaguar sedan with the chassis number SAJAA.20 GRDMv43376.
The EFCC’s applications, with the file numbers FHC/ABJ/CS/1122/2021 and FHC/ABJ/CS/1123/2021, seeking the assets’ final forfeiture, were the subject of the decision.
No one objected to the court’s earlier order of interim forfeiture, which was made on November 29, 2021, thus Justice Olajuwon issued the order for final forfeiture.
The court had instructed the EFCC to issue a notice in a national daily urging anyone having an interest in the assets to show cause as to why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government while granting the order for interim forfeiture.
The EFCC said that it followed the court’s instructions and publicized the interim forfeiture order on April 6, 2022 in a national daily before applying for ultimate forfeiture when no one appeared in court to challenge the forfeiture order.
