Court orders permanent forfeiture of Diezani’s ‘$37.5m Lagos property’

Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court Monday ordered the permanent forfeiture of a $37.5 million property on Banana Island, Lagos, allegedly belonging to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke.
Mr. Obiozor gave the order to the Federal Government after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, argued a motion on notice before the court.
The property, known as Building 3, Block B, Bella Vista Plot 1, Banana Island Foreshore Estate, has 24 apartments, 18 flats, and six penthouses, according to prosecutors.
Mr. Obiozor had on July 19 ordered the temporary forfeiture of the property after listening to an exparte application brought by the EFCC’s Head of Legal, Anselm Ozioko.
The judge also directed the EFCC to publish the order in the newspapers so that any interested party who does not want the property to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government could appear in court within 14 days.
He then adjourned proceedings till August 7.
At the resumed hearing Monday, Mr. Ozioko informed the court that the EFCC had published the order in the papers as directed, but the respondents did not show up to contest the order.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke is currently in the UK where she is under probe for alleged money laundering.
Apart from several corruption allegations against her in Nigeria, she has also been named in corruption charges against two of her associates, Jide Omokore and Kola Aluko, in the United States.