Updated: Diezani, Banks Finally Forfeit $153.3m Loot

Paul Sanusi|

After a spirited battle to retain $153.3million seen as proceed of crime, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke and three banks lost out today.

Out of the $153.3million, N23.4 billion was kept in Sterling Bank Plc, N9.08 billion in First Bank Plc, and $5million in Access Bank Plc.

Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court, in Lagos, had earlier ordered a temporary seizure of the money which was stolen from the NNPC, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and stashed in the banks, in US Dollars and Naira.

He issued the interim order of forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government (FG), on January 6, following an ex parte application brought before his court by EFCC.

The judge had then given the banks and other interested parties 14 days to appear before him to prove the legitimacy of the monies, failure of which the funds would be permanently forfeited to the Nigerian government.

Only First Bank’s Executive Director, Public Sector, Mr Dauda Lawal challenged the process.

His defence lawyers had put in arguments to salvage the money allegedly laundered on behalf of Mrs Allison-Madueke.

The Court, however, ordered the final forfeiture of the looted $153.3 million today.

Justice Muslim S. Hassan gave the order while delivering judgment in the suit filed by EFCC seeking a forfeiture of the funds identified as proceeds of crime.

According to the Commission, in December 2014, Mrs. Alison-Madueke invited the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, to her office where they hatched the plan to move $153,310,000 out of the NNPC for the minister.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke, according to an affidavit by Moses Awolusi, an EFCC investigator, instructed Mr. Okonkwo to ensure that the money was “neither credited into any known account nor captured in any transaction platforms” of Fidelity Bank.

Mr. Okonkwo accepted and implemented the deal leading to the movement of $153,310,000 from NNPC to Fidelity Bank.

He said that two former Group Executive Directors of Finance and Account of NNPC, B.O.N. Otti and Stanley Lawson, helped Mrs. Alison-Madueke to move the cash from NNPC, Abuja, to the headquarters of Fidelity Bank in Lagos.

In 2012, Mr. Otti, alongside Steve Oronsaye, hugged headlines for attempting to discredit the report of the Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force which exposed the monumental corruption in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.

While he was serving as a member of the task force, Mr. Otti was appointed into the board of the NNPC by Mrs. Alison-Madueke.

Mr. Awolusi said in a desperate bid to conceal the source of the money, Mr. Okonkwo, upon receiving it, instructed the Country Head of Fidelity Bank, Martin Izuogbe, to take $113,310,000 cash out of the money to the Executive Director, Commercial and Institutional Bank, Sterling Bank Plc, Lanre Adesanya, to keep.

The sum of $5 million was kept with the Managing Director Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe.

He said the remaining $40 million was taken in cash to the Executive Director, Public Sector Accountant, First Bank, Dauda Lawal, to keep.

First Bank had said that the transaction was done in Lawal’s personal capacity, and the money was not a First Bank transaction.

The EFCC arrested Mr. Lawal in May last year for allegedly helping Mrs. Alison-Madueke to launder $25 million.

Lawal was joined as respondent in the suit.

At the last adjourned date on January 24, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, and Mr. Charles Adeogun, counsels representing the EFCC and the respondent (Lawal) had respectively argued their originating processes before the court.

Oyedepo had urged the court to make the interim order absolute and order a final forfeiture of the sums to the FG.

He had also urged the court to order the forfeiture of other sums to which no claim had been laid

In his argument, Adeogun (respondent’s counsel) urged the court to issue an order, directing a refund of the sum of N9.80 billion to the respondent, on the grounds that same was obtained by coercion.

He argued that before such forfeiture orders can be made, two essential elements must be satisfied namely, “that the property in question is unclaimed, and that such property or funds forms proceeds of an unlawful act”.

He had urged the court to order a refund of the sum of N9.08 billion to the second respondent on the grounds that same was obtained by coercion.

Delivering his judgment today, Justice Hassan ordered a final forfeiture of the unclaimed sum of N23, 426, 300.00 billion and $5 million to the FG finally.

He stated in his ruling: “I hereby make an order pursuant to section 17 of the Advanced Fee Fraud, and other fraud related offences Act 2016, for final forfeiture of the unclaimed sum of N23, 426, 300.000 and 5 million United States Dollars to the Federal Government finally.

“In respect of the second respondent, learned counsel Mr. Charles Adeogun informed the court that the second respondent filed a counter affidavit on why the sum of N9.80 billion should not be forfeited.

“I have carefully examined the affidavit evidence before the court and I find that the second respondent was duly cautioned in English language before his statement was taken and so, I hold that same was taken without any evidence of inducement.

“On the whole I am satisfied that all the conditions stated in section 17 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other Related offences Act, was duly fulfilled by the applicant.

“I accordingly make the following orders: an order for the final forfeiture of the sum of N23, 426, 300.000.00 billion being unclaimed property, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“An order of final forfeiture is also made for the sum of N9.08 billion recovered from the second respondent, to the Federal Government of Nigeria. This is my judgment.”

Before the judgment, Adeogun had informed the court of two of his pending motions filed on February 3; first, seeking an abridgement of time and secondly for leave to file further affidavits to his counter affidavit.

He had informed the court that parties were exploring means of reaching amicable settlement in the matter.

He described it as a common sense approach to resolving the matter. He added that the sum recovered from the second respondent, and sorts to be finally forfeited, were gathered from friends and relatives.

He also added that the facts were not made available to the Court at the last adjourned date, because the instruments, with which the funds were paid, were with the Commission.

In response, Counsel to the EFCC, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo informed the court that he was not privy to such settlement options, adding that he was only sent to do the “bidding” of his employers.

He said, “If the intention of the respondent is to keep the application in the court’s file in abeyance I will then pray the court to strike out the applications relying on the authorities of SIEC Ekiti State vs NCP, Newswatch Communication Limited vs Attah and Manuel vs Briggs.

“The applications the counsels seek to put in abeyance in sum are intended to arrest the court’s judgment fixed for today.

“…The Court had held that it is alien for the Court to allow it’s judgment to be arrested once reserved.

“It is just like a pregnant woman in the delivery room, getting an invitation to attend a wedding ceremony; in essence, the court is carrying a pregnancy, and so, no party should be allowed to terminate it.

“The court had given parties adequate time for anyone to complain of rights infringement and so I urge the court to strike out the application so that the coast can be clear to deliver judgment.”

The trial judge in a short ruling, allowed the second respondent’s counsel (Adeogun) to move his application.

After Adeogun had moved the application, the court in a short ruling had dismissed the application and proceeded with the delivery of its judgment.