Nigerian court seeks forfeiture of $37M property

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - A Nigerian federal high court on Wednesday ordered the temporary forfeiture of a multimillion-dollar property reportedly owned by Diezani Alison-Madueke, petroleum minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The house was bought by Diezani for $37.5 million in 2013 on the elite Banana Island in southwestern Lagos state, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The temporary forfeiture order followed an ex parte application by the country's anti-graft agency, which argued that the money used to buy the property had been “proceeds of fraudulent activities".

Anzelem Ozioko, attorney to the anti-graft body, said the former minister had paid for the property with raw cash to avoid being traced.

“Nothing could be more suspicious than someone keeping such huge amounts in her apartment. Why was she doing that? To avoid attention,” Ozioko told Justice Chuka Obiozor, who made the forfeiture order.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of over $3 million in rent said to have been paid on the property since then. The money was traced to a local bank account.

Aug. 7 is the cut-off date set by the court to explain why the property and the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the Nigerian government.

The state is prosecuting the former minister in absentia on several charges of corruption, money laundering and abuse of office.

Diezani is not in the country, having previously said she was undergoing treatment for cancer in a London hospital.