A federal high court in Lagos has ordered the forfeiture of jewellery and a customised gold iPhone, belonging to Diezani Alison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) valued the items at $40 million.
At the court on Friday, Nicholas Oweibo, a judge, ordered the temporary seizure of the items following an ex parte application moved by Rotimi Oyedepo, lawyer for the EFCC.
He had said the application, which had Alison-Madueke as the only defendant, was filed in pursuant to section 17 of the advance fee fraud and other related offences act no. 14, 2006.
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According to the schedule attached to the application, some of the pieces of jewellery, categorised into 33 sets, are “419 bangles; 315 rings; 304 earrings; 267 necklaces; 189 wristwatches; 174 necklaces and earrings; 78 bracelets; 77 brooches; and 74 pendants.”
The anti-graft commission said it found and recovered the items in the premises of Alison-Madueke, adding that it suspected that the former minister acquired them with “proceeds of unlawful activities.”
Oweibo ordered EFCC to publish the forfeiture order in a national newspaper “for the respondent or anyone who is interested in the property sought to be forfeited to appear before this honourable court to show cause within 14 days why a final forfeiture order of the said properties should not be made in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
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The judge adjourned the matter till August 23, 2019.
The ex-minister has been accused of corruption, an allegation she denied.
In 2017, Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of EFCC, said the agency recovered $43 million from her.
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