President Muhammadu Buhari, on behalf of the Federal Government, is set to receive a whopping sum of N48.136 billion from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
This came as a Federal High Court, in Lagos, ordered the embattled former Minister to forfeit the sum of $153,310,000, to the Federal government.
Three banks have been ordered by Justice Muslim Hassan, of the Federal High Court Lagos, to hand over the money, N48.136 billion, at exchange rate of N314 to a dollar, to the Federal Government.
The funds, were said to have been allegedly looted, and stashed in the banks.
According to the court’s ruling, the money which the former Minister is accused to have siphoned from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, will be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government, pending its prove of legitimacy, or otherwise.
The ruling, came as Justice Hassan, gave the banks and any other interested party, 14 days to appear before it; to prove the legitimacy of the funds, of which failing to do so, would amount permanently forfeiting of the funds to the Federal Government.
Sterling Bank, allegedly has in its custody the sum of N23, 446, 300,000, from $153.3 million; First Bank Plc, N9, 080,000,000; while Access Bank, has $5 million (N1.8 billion).
Recall, that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had on Friday, appeared before the court with an ex parte application, praying the court for temporary forfeiture of the funds.
An EFCC Investigator, Moses Awolusi, had in a nine-paragraph affidavit filed in support of the ex parte application, argued that the anti-graft agency learnt through its investigations, how sometime in December, 2014, Diezani invited a former Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, to her office, where they hatched the plan on how a cash sum of $153,310,000, would be moved from NNPC to Okonkwo, to be saved for Diezani.
Awolusi, went further to state that Diezani instructed Okonkwo, to make sure that the money was neither credited into any known account, nor captured in any transaction platforms of Fidelity Bank.
The presiding Judge, Justice Hassan, after listening to the application, ruled that the money be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government, pending the proof of its legitimacy, or otherwise.
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