Former Nigerian oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke temporarily forfeited $153.3 million to the Nigerian government today. This was sequel to an order by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The seized money, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was stolen from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and stashed in three banks in Nigeria, in US dollars and Naira.
Out of the loot, N23.4 billion was kept in Sterling Bank Plc. The sum of N9.08 billion was kept in First Bank Plc and $5m in Access Bank Plc.
Justice Muslim Hassan, who gave the order, gave Sterling Bank and any other interested party 14 days to appear before him to prove the legitimacy of the monies, failing which the funds would be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Maduekwe
The judge made the order in favour of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which appeared before him today with an ex parte application seeking the temporary forfeiture of the funds.
In a nine-paragraph affidavit by by EFCC investigator, Moses Awolusi and filed in support of the ex parte application, the anti-graft agency discovered how sometime in December 2014 Diezani invited a former Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, to her office. There they hatched the plan of how $153,310,000 would be moved from NNPC to Okonkwo to be saved for Diezani.
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