The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday appealed to the Federal High Court in Lagos to order a permanent forfeiture of the 2,149 pieces of jewellery and a customised gold iPhone, valued at $40m, recovered from the Abuja home of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.
In an affidavit deposed to by Rufai Zaki, an investigator, the EFCC insisted that the items were beyond Diezani’s “known and provable lawful income”.
Zaki recalled that Diezani was appointed as Minister of Petroleum Resources on April 12, 2010.
He said the anti-corruption body’s investigation had shown Diezani started acquiring the jewellery in 2012 from one Bukola Oyewumi of Trinket Box Bespoke Jewellery at Ikeja City Mall, Alausa.
The EFCC official was in possession of the details of the UBA account through which Diezani received her salary as minister.
He said,
“The respondent did not utilise her salary or any part of her legitimate income to acquire the assets sought to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Zaki added that a “damning intelligence report” received by the EFCC led to the search of Diezani’s house at No. 10 Fredrick Chiluba Close, Asokoro, Abuja.
He said they invited Oyewumi and she made a statement, saying she started selling jewellery to Diezani in 2012.
According to Zaki, Oyewumi also made available to the EFCC the invoices issued in respect of the jewellery in which ‘Aunty D’ was written as the buyer.
He said they also discovered that apart from Oyewumi, the ex-minister also bought jewellery from one Minal Ratanani of Bella Vista Apartment, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos.
According to him, Ratanani admitted during questioning by the EFCC that Diezani bought jewellery worth $865,300.00 from her over a period and she paid cash.
Counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, said it was in the best interest of justice for the court to order a permanent forfeiture of the jewellery and the iPhone to the Federal Government.
He said the court was empowered to make such forfeiture order under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offence Act 2006, because “the respondent’s known and provable lawful income is far less than the properties sought to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria”.
But Diezani, through her counsel, Nnamdi Awa-Kalu, insisted that the seizure of the items amounted to a violation of her constitutional right to own property.
At the end of Monday’s hearing, Justice Nicholas Oweibo adjourned till September 10, 2019 for ruling.
