Federal High Court has ordered the forfeiture of Diezani’s N7.6bn loot

Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of a sum of N7,646,700,000  loot by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, to the Federal Government.

The EFCC, had told the Justice Chuka Obiozor-led court via an exparte application that the N7.6bn was part of the sum of $153,310,000 which Diezani allegedly siphoned from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation sometime in 2014.

The Commission also alleged that the former Petroleum Minister stashed the money in three Nigerian banks.

However, the Federal Government had since February 2016, through an order granted by another judge, Justice Muslim Hassan also of the Federal High Court, taken possession of part of the money from the other banks.

The anti-graft agency told the court that the Federal Government had recovered N23.4bn, $5m and another N9.08bn out of the $153.3m. It, therefore, prayed the court to order Sterling Bank to deliver up to the Federal Government the N7.6bn still in its custody.