welcome to Adegokblog: 10/12/17

Davido Lied About Tagbo's Death, Re-invited For Questioning By Police

The police in Lagos have said that Tagbo Umeike, the late friend of music artist, Davido, actually died from suffocation, and not alcohol poisoning that was originally reported.

The police commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, stated this at a briefing in Lagos on Wednesday afternoon, where he announced that Davido has been re-invited for questioning after he lied to police.
Mr. Edgal said Davido has been re-invited for questioning because he lied that he only knew of Tagbo’s demise while he was at DNA nightclub, in Victoria Island, a claim that has been found to be untrue.
According to Mr. Edgal, the autopsy report revealed that Tagbo died from suffocation, adding that Davido’s driver and two of his friends abandoned him in his car at the hospital.
Tagbo reportedly died on the eve of his birthday on Tuesday at a bar in the Lekki area of the state. Two other associates of the singer – DJ Olu, 25, and Chime Amaechi – were found lifeless in the former’s BMW car parked in the underground garage of Block B, Banana Island, Lagos on Saturday, three days after Tagbo’s death.

President Buhari Approved N640 billion Oil Contracts From His Sickbed In London, NNPC Chief Baru Indicates

President Muhammadu Buhari was granting approvals for oil deals to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation during the time he was on his sick bed in London – and when he had relinquished presidential powers to his Vice President – the head, Maikanti Baru, has indicated.

Mr. Baru said Mr. Buhari approved at least two separate oil contracts on July 10 and July 31 worth $1 billion and $780 million, respectively.
The N640.8 billion contracts (at N360/$ exchange rate) were approved when Mr. Buhari was receiving treatment for undisclosed ailments in London, and when he was not supposed to be exercising presidential powers, having named Vice President Yemi Osinbajo acting president in a formal correspondence to the National Assembly.
Mr. Buhari was flown to London on May 7, barely two months after he returned from his first 2017 medical vacation which saw him spend 50 days in the United Kingdom.
On May 9, a letter Mr. Buhari wrote to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate notifying them that he had relinquished presidential authorities in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution was read on the floor of both chambers.
Despite rumors of his early return, Mr. Buhari ultimately spent 103 days receiving treatment in London, returning on August 19.
On August 21, the president notified the National Assembly of his return in writing, saying he had “resumed” his “functions as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with effect from Monday, 21st August, 2017.”
THE CONTRACTS
But on Monday, Mr. Baru revealed that Mr. Buhari had been exercising presidential powers by granting approvals for NNPC joint venture contracts when he was supposedly on his sickbed and not exercising presidential powers.
Mr. Baru gave details of the contracts as follows:
S/N PROJECT Amount (US$mn) APPROVALS LOAN EXECUTED BY
NTB PRESIDENTIAL
1. NNPC/CNL JV Project Cheetah 1200 16/04/15 01/09/15 Dr. E. I. Kachikwu
2. NNPC/CNL JV Project Falcon 780 26/04/17 31/07/17 Dr. M. K. Baru
3. NNPC/SPDC JV Project Santolina 1000 26/04/17 10/07/17 Dr. M. K. Baru
TOTAL 2980
(CNL refers to Chevron Nigeria Limited, SPDC to Shell Petroleum Development Company and JV to Joint Venture).
The disclosures were made when the NNPC responded – on behalf of Mr. Baru – to the allegations of contract fraud and insubordination raised by Ibe Kachikwu.
Mr. Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, had in an August 30 memo to Mr. Buhari said Mr. Baru unilaterally approved contracts without recourse to him or the NNPC board, amongst other concerns. The memo surfaced on social media on October 3, sending ripples through the country’s polity.
On October 9, the NNPC responded to Mr. Kachikwu’s allegations by publishing the above contract details, which it said was at the instance of Mr. Buhari, who had kept mum since the scandal broke.
But a look at the dates of the three contracts shows that two of them received presidential approval on dates Mr. Buhari was not in the country, July 31 for the second contract with Chevron Nigeria and July 10 for the contract with Shell. Mr. Baru’s name was placed against the contracts as the person who administered the contract in his capacity as the Group Managing Director of the NNPC.
Only the September 1, 2015, contract which Mr. Kachikwu oversaw during his tenure as the GMD of NNPC received presidential approval on a date Mr. Buhari was in the country and wielding presidential powers.
A compilation of Mr. Buhari’s travels reveals that he was in the country from early August 2015 when he returned from Cotonou until September 7 when he visited Accra.
But while it is clear that the presidential approval granted when Mr. Kachikwu was the head of NNPC happened when Mr. Buhari was exercising presidential powers; it appeared like Mr. Baru received his approval when Mr. Buhari was in London.
GETTING OSINBAJO’S CONSENT
In his memo to Mr. Buhari, Mr. Kachikwu stated that when Mr. Buhari was unwell in London for several months between May and August, Mr. Baru tried to get direct approval from Acting President Osinbajo for some personnel changes at the NNPC.
But Mr. Osinbajo asked Mr. Baru to go back to Mr. Kachikwu and get his input and approval first before making the changes. Mr. Baru refused to consult Mr. Kachikwu on that.
For weeks, the changes were not made, until Mr. Buhari returned on August 19. By August 29, Mr. Baru announced the changes.
This prompted Mr. Kachikwu’s letter to the president on August 30, complaining that he learnt of the development in the media.
Sources at the presidency corroborated Mr. Kachikwu’s claim that Mr. Osinbajo rebuffed Mr. Baru’s attempts to get presidential approval behind Mr. Kachikwu.
Neither the vice president’s office nor Mr. Baru also denied that claim by Mr. Kachikwu.
It is not immediately clear if Mr. Baru also attempted to get approval for the multi-billion dollar contracts from Mr. Osinbajo. But presidency sources said it was unlikely that Mr. Osinbajo, who did not allow Mr. Baru to make personnel changes, would allow the NNPC GMD to circumvent Mr. Kachikwu with such high-profile contracts.
Ndu Ughamadu, the spokesperson for the NNPC, would not confirm or deny if Mr. Baru got the approval from Mr. Buhari in London.
“Presidential approval is presidential approval,” Mr. Ughamadu said.
When PREMIUM TIMES reminded him of potential legal implications of Mr. Buhari exercising presidential powers even when he had relinquished same in accordance with the constitution, Mr. Ughamadu dug his heels in.
“Presidential approval is presidential approval,” the spokesperson insisted.
For several hours on Tuesday, presidential spokespersons Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ requests seeking their comments about this and other problematic parts of the NNPC revelations.
Sola Adebawo, Director of Communications at Chevron, did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ requests for comments Tuesday evening. His counterpart at Shell Nigeria, Bamidele Odugbesan, simply told PREMIUM TIMES to “direct inquiries to relevant government authorities.”
Yet, the N640.8 billion oil contracts might not be the only one Mr. Baru got Mr. Buhari to approve while he was still unwell in London.
For instance, the NNPC announced on February 2 ‎that it received 128 bids from local and international firms willing to participate in its 2017-2018 Direct-Sale–Direct-Purchase crude programme, which was adopted by the Buhari administration last year to replace the crude oil swap initiative and the offshore processing arrangement.
Mr. Buhari was not around in on February 2 when the announcement was made, having been flown to London on January 19 for his first medical trip of the year. He didn’t return to the country until March.
On May 19, when NNPC sources told Daily Trust and a few other media houses that it had finally entered into a $6 billion deal with 10 companies for 2017-2018 edition of DSDP contracts, Mr. Buhari was also not in the country.‎
The NNPC spokesperson declined comments about DSDP contracts.
LEGAL EXPERT WEIGHS IN
Mr. Kachikwu previously doubled as the Minister of State for Petroleum and GMD of NNPC until he was relieved of the latter post by Mr. Buhari on June 4, 2016, the same day Mr. Baru was named as a replacement.
When Mr. Buhari named Mr. Baru the GMD, he made Mr. Kachikwu the chairman of the NNPC board.
The NNPC Act designates the board to oversee the affairs of the state-owned oil giant.
The Act states that the Minister of Petroleum must be the chairman of the NNPC board. Mr. Buhari is the substantive Minister of Petroleum. But he is allowed by the NNPC law to delegate powers, including chairmanship of the board.
However, the law also allows Mr. Buhari to act concurrently as the chairman of NNPC board even while the appointment of the person he delegated powers to is still valid.
Legal analyst, Liborous Oshoma, said the president’s action may be “unprocedural” but might not be entirely illegal.”
“This is similar to what we have witnessed since the president was away yet he was still issuing presidential statements and taking calls from President Donald Trump and other presidents to discuss matters concerning Nigeria.
“All that happened despite the fact that we had an acting president in place and Nigerians raised concerns at the time,” Mr. Oshoma said.
He said Mr. Buhari might not be in a good state of mind when the presidential approvals were procured and their validity could be challenged in court.
“The contracts could be challenged and possibly rendered invalid by the courts because he didn’t have presidential powers at the time he was exercising same,” Mr. Oshoma added. “The acting president ought to have approved those contracts because no one knew what state of mind the president was at the time.”

Delta Airlines To Commence Direct Flights From New York To Lagos

Leading American carrier, Delta Airlines, will, next March, commence direct flight operations from New York’s JFK Airport to Lagos. The flight service, which will be three times weekly, will begin on 24 March 2018, complementing the existing four times weekly service from Atlanta.

Mr. Henry Kuykendall, Delta Airline’s Vice President, New York, stated that New York’s JF Kennedy Airport is one of the airline’s gateways to the world.

“We’re proud to make that world a little smaller with the launch of service to Lagos. This new route to the African continent joins existing service from JFK to Dakar and Accra and follows new trans-Atlantic routes to Lisbon, Berlin, and Glasgow that began this spring. We’re proud to continue to grow and refine our network to serve the more than 27 million Delta customers that pass through New York every year,” he said.

The airline’s New York-JFK – Lagos service is scheduled, on flight number DL415, to depart New York on at 10.pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, arriving Lagos at 2:05 p.m. the next day. DL215 will depart Lagos 10:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, arriving New York-JFK at 5:30 am the next day.

The flying experience between New York-JFK and Lagos will be on the Airbus A330-200 aircraft, featuring 34 lie-flat seats with direct-aisle access in Delta One, 32 in Delta Comfort+ and 168 seats in the Main Cabin. The experience also includes complimentary meals, including chef-curated and locally sourced fare and beverages in all cabins.

In addition, passengers in Delta One cabin will enjoy Westin Heavenly in-flight bedding, noise-canceling LSTN headphones, and TUMI amenity kits featuring Kiehl’s Since 1851 premium skincare products.

Delta Airlines is the preeminent U.S. airline in Africa and flies to Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; and Johannesburg, South Africa; and Lagos, where it will mark its 10th anniversary of service in December.
Mr. Dwight James, Delta Airlines’ Senior Vice President –Trans-Atlantic, said Nigeria is an important market for the carrier.

“Nigeria has been a strategically important market for Delta over the past 10 years and is a mainstay in our African network. As we look ahead to the next decade, we are improving the product offering with the A330 and increasing the number of seats from Lagos,” he said.

Nigerian Army Stops Medical Outreach In Anambra

The government of Anambra has announced that the Nigerian Army stopped the medical outreach it is undertaking in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of the state, following an advice by the state government.

The development was announced in a statement signed by Professor Solo Chukwulobelu, Secretary to the State Government (SSG). According to the statement, the exercise sparked strong apprehension among the populace, leading to the withdrawal of students from schools by parents and misconception of the actual motive for the exercise by stakeholders, community leaders, and the general public for whom it was intended.

To avoid further escalation of the situation, the statement disclosed, the governor, Mr. Willie Obiano, advised the Army to immediately halt the exercise until considerable public sensitization is conducted to reassure people of its intentions and benefits.

“The exercise has therefore been put on hold. Parents and guardians are strongly advised to stop withdrawing their wards from schools as the situation has been handled. All schools within the state will remain open as there is no cause for alarm. Community leaders, Presidents-General, and all stakeholders are hereby reassured of the commitment of the governor and the state government to the well-being of Ndi Anambra,” the statement said.

The Anambra State government condemned the misrepresentation of the situation on the social media, which insinuated that the exercise resulted in the spread of diseases and deaths of students, adding that it was made to understand that the exercise is part of Army’s social responsibility.

“The state government categorically refutes the rhetoric and confirms that there is no death of any student anywhere in the state. Mischief makers are warned to desist from spreading falsehood. Anambra remains calm and peaceful,” the government stated.

Buhari's Corruption Is More Innocent Than Yours By Emmanuel Ugwu

All of a sudden, the Buhari administration that is given to shouting anti-corruption from the rooftop has adjusted to the inviolate, otherworldly quiet of a Buddhist monastery. The dubious 9 trillion naira contract fraud exploded by Ibe Kachikwu’s ‘leaked’ memo has forced them into preternatural speechlessness.

President Buhari, who cornered the position of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, on the pretext that he was the only Nigerian qualified in integrity and experience to transform the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation from a den of thieves to a sane institution governed by global best practices, is hiding behind the veil of silence. He is unwilling to publicly acknowledge the mindboggling scam within his zone of supervision and field of vision, one which represents the criminal hijack of the equivalent of Nigeria’s 2017 budget and its opportunity costs in infrastructure.
Buhari's aides, likewise, have offered no comment, cryptic or revealing. And Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, who after being repeatedly frustrated by a Gaza-grade blockade mounted to scuttle his many attempts to meet with Buhari to table the matter before him, was summoned to a hurriedly arranged audience, eventually walked out the president’s office, saying no more than "no comment" to the pressmen who had been waiting for one hour to hear from the horse’s mouth.
The NNPC contracts and the leaked memo that burst it like a gigantic balloon of pus are the issues of the day in Nigeria. But the Buhari presidency is acting like it is the scandal rocking the government of a distant banana republic. They have kept mum, as if it were an imported rumor they could not to afford to be interested in. They are secure in their shell of indifference, in their distance of uppermost caste snobbery, in their scorn of the right of the people to answers.
The most President Buhari has done is try to calm the scandal as a baby screaming in the midnight. He invited Kachikwu to Aso Rock to discuss the memo he had ignored before it leaked. He appeased the junior minister and "ordered" a truce, a return to "sanity."
On the same day, in a related effort at damage control, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo sat down for a chat with Maikanti Baru, the Director General of NNPC, the man who singlehandedly signed away a contract figure that could effectively run the federal government of Nigeria for a whole year. Osinbajo relayed Buhari's message to Baru: end the turf war with Kachikwu, stop the bickering, let sleeping dogs lie.
With Kachikwu placated and sworn to silence by President Buhari and Baru given a homily on peace by Pastor Osinbajo, the presidency has answered the 9 trillion naira question, "settling" it like an incident of sibling rivalry. A tiny brotherly squabble. A family misunderstanding that slipped through the crack on the wall and escaped into the public square.
Buhari resolved the issue with avuncular politesse. He addressed the monumental fraud as though it were a mere battle of supremacy between two of his appointees. He presumed on the powers of his office to whitewash a criminal act and foreclose the materialization of the appropriate consequences. He obstructed justice in the guise of peacemaking.
There was no outrage from the self-styled avenging angel of corruption. He condoned the fraud. He excused it.
Buhari defined corruption downwards. He said the award of the 9 trillion naira contract in violation of statutory rules was not corruption. It’s not a big deal. It’s a quarrel.
Most Nigerians nursed the hope that the reproach of the casual disappearance of billions of petrodollars from the NNPC has passed away with President Goodluck Jonathan and his covetous Oil Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. That NNPC would not be the ever-spitting ATM that serves the avarice of the few in the Buhari era. That he will not abide the crazy looting of public funds.
Today, they see that Buhari they had placed on a pedestal perpetuating the corruption he was elected to stop. They see him cover up the $25 billion fraud in NNPC the selfsame Jonathan waffled on the missing of $20 billion from the NNPC.
What’s even worrisome is that the curious concatenation of "coincidences" - Buhari’s avoidance of a facetime with Kachikwu, his neglect of the minister’s memo, and his insistence that the "juicy" oil contracts that are apparently not kosher stand as awarded- suggests that Buhari may have personally benefited from deals. Analysts are agreed that the highly consequential contracts could not have happened without his imprimatur. He signed off on them.
Buhari’s government recently launched a whistleblower policy, established a token reward for whistleblowers and gleefully celebrated receiving over 5000 tips and 365 "actionable" ones from Nigerians. It’s very suspicious that when Buhari’s own minister sent him a whistleblowing memo talking about public money in the order of $25 billion, he saw it as anything but an opportunity to fight corruption. Rather, he tucked away the note like the scrap of a forgettable diary. He hid it like a bad gift, an ugly keepsake; willing it to rot till thy kingdom come.
Buhari often talks about "corruption fighting back." His burial of the memo was corruption fighting front. It was putting corruption in the lead.
Many people have expressed concern that the plot of the contracts bears the hallmarks of a typical Nigerian pre-election heist. Normally, the incumbent president, as a matter of precedence, begins to build his second term campaign war chest midway into his first term. He gives himself a head start by looting the cash cow federal agencies by dashing out outrageous contracts to his cronies. That way, he "empowers" them to help him buy the vote.
Buhari’s allies have already started laying the groundwork for his second term bid. And he appears to have turned to NNPC, the good old money tree that he can shake slightly and have cascades of windfall. This is probably why he can’t recognize corruption in the 9 trillion naira contracts.
Buhari bequeathed Nigerians the aphorism, "If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will Nigeria." He calls himself as the commander of Nigeria's first ever serious war against corruption. He is quick to pounce on former officials for corruptly enriching themselves. But when confronted with the facts of his own corruption, he legitimized the wrongdoing and called it proper.
Buhari asked Kachikwu and Baru to let "sanity" prevail. Don’t duel in such a manner as to invite public scrutiny to the NNPC. Get along well and make our regime of the underhand contracts peaceful.
He sued for a return to "sanity." If 9 trillion naira fraud occurred in an atmosphere of "sanity," what could the climate of insanity possibly produce? Is "sanity" the new name of insanity?
Without doubt, if Buhari were not involved in the 9 trillion naira fraud, he would surely have regarded it as a heinous crime and treated it as such. But money laundering is clean business when he participates. Wrongdoing loses the quality of a vice if he is the doer. He is exceptional.
In Buhari’s world of moralism, the corruption of the other is criminal while his corruption is legal. Your corruption is evil and his corruption, good. Your corruption is guilty and his corruption, innocent.
You can reach Emmanuel at immaugwu@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EmmaUgwuTheMan.

President Muhammadu Buhari during his Independence Day speec

55 People Stole $6.2 Billion - Lai Mohammed

Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed says 55 people may have stolen about $6.2 billion public funds from the country.
He gave no names of the culprits, listing only projects which government could have executed with a third of the funds, if recovered.
Mohammed spoke on an Al-Jazeera as part of a feature on the vast properties acquired in the UK with stolen funds by Nigerians.
According to the minister, $2.06billion of the alleged stolen funds would have built 600 kilometres of roads, 37 hospitals, 20,000 housing units and trained 4000 kids from primary to university level.
The corruption problem was also the subject of discussion on the Facebook wall of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie yesterday.
Onochie aimed darts at former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and ex-Petroleum Affairs Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke for what she called their weird demands.
Her words: “It’s the season of weird demands. Recently, Nigerians were assaulted by the demand by the wife of the former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience Jonathan, asking President Muhammadu Buhari to “Tell EFCC to leave her alone.”
“Fat chance! EFCC is an institution, not an adulterous man running after someone else’s wife. “So, woman to woman, I asked her to look inwards. Patience should wear the sort of aura that dispels, rather than attracts law enforcement agencies.
“She can start by being honest and coming clean, regarding everything – cash, properties, etc., that were ill-acquired. Then hand them back to the rightful owners. Yes, back to Nigerians via the EFCC.
“You see, EFCC, ICPC, DSS, CCT, all follow the smell of crimes. If she does not have suspicions of criminal activities oozing and buzzing from and around her, there’s no way she’ll be dragging President Buhari to commit impunity by ordering EFCC to leave you alone.
“But there again, she’s been busy swatting the bees, she had no time to see that her husband’s reign of impunity, ended many moons ago.
“But that’s not the end of the story. And then, there’s Diezani Alison- Madueke.
“She too, wants something. She wants to return home. Remember she’s in the UK for medical purposes. Remember the photoshopped images her image launderer plastered all over the tabloid and the Social Media?
“Diezani is over 18 years old. That makes her an adult. She dusted her passport and flew out of this country, Nigeria.
“She had concluded plans to run off to a Caribbean Island to live off the blood money she stole, not hauled from the poorest and the most vulnerable citizens of this nation.
“She had no idea that she had become attractive to the British authorities, and had been in their view since 2013.
” You see, these women, who own choice properties and obese bank accounts they do not need, across the world including Nigeria, had the best of opportunities to improve the lives of Nigerians, especially those who suffer health hazards from environmental degradation in the bowels of the Niger Delta where these two come from.
“If they cared not about their immediate environment, why would they bat an eyelid that environmental issues in the Lake Chad Basin were fuelling Boko Haram.
“The adage that what a man can do a woman can do better, has never been proven more by anyone than Diezani Madueke.
“The forfeitures the Nigerian people have been awarded against Diezani, the pending and on-going corruption investigations and cases, are a testimony that this woman, who was elevated to the status of a goddess by ex-President Jonathan, has cases to answer, from UK to USA, Italy to the Caribbean.
“Why Mrs Madueke suddenly developed an urge to return home, is not clear. But many Nigerians think it’s not unconnected to the perceived cash and carry criminal justice system in Nigeria.
“But she’s probably not aware that the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Onnoghen, has vowed to clean up the judiciary.
“But there might be those judges who would be tempted by the mouth watering inducement that flows from the bottomless pit of Diezani Madueke’s haulage.
“May I remind Mrs. Madueke that a certain (Rtd) Admiral Alison-Madueke, warned President Muhammadu Buhari to leave his wife alone. May I also remind Diezani that Nigerians assume that she is that wife that the retired naval officer warned the President about.
“Now that she has been left alone, if she needs to return to Nigeria, she will also need her husband to threaten President Buhari to come after her, Hahahahaha…
“Dear Sis, in the meantime, you should make yourself comfortable in the UK. Attend to your criminal trials going on there. When found guilty, happily serve your jail term because it’s just the beginning.
“Then when you are done, repeat the same process in America and then in Italy. If you are still alive by then, you should then be retired to Nigeria, to begin the same process that will ultimately lead you to your retirement home. You have a choice between Kirikiri and Kuje, among other prisons. Till then, it’s Goodbye Diezani. You aren’t coming home soon!”

Court Orders Permanent Forfeiture Of 56 Houses Linked To Diezani

Justice Abdulaziz Anka of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the permanent forfeiture of 56 houses allegedly owned by former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke to the federal government of Nigeria.
The assets, with an estimated value of N3 billion, had been on temporal forfeiture to the federal government following an ex parte order obtained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The houses, located in Lagos and Port Harcourt, were said to have been acquired by the ex-minister between 2011 and 2013 using front companies.

Property in London owned by former petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke Barnaby Pace The houses, located at 7 Turnbull Street and 5 Raymond Street, Yaba, were allegedly bought by Mrs. Alison-Madueke for the United States dollar equivalent of N937m through Chapel Properties Ltd.
Other seized houses are 16 four-bedroom terraced houses in Heritage Court Estate, Plot 2C, Omerelu Street, Diobu, Government Residential Area (GRA) Phase 1 Extension, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, purchased for N928m through Blue Nile Estate Ltd.
The EFCC claimed that Mrs. Alison-Madueke paid $21,982,224 for the properties, adding that it believed that the funds were proceeds of crime.
The anti-graft agency listed the properties to include 29 terraced houses comprising eight four-bedroom penthouse apartments, six three-bedroom apartments, two three-bedroom marionettes, two twin bedroom apartments and one four-bedroom apartment.
Justice Anka had earlier ordered temporal forfeiture of the properties on August 23 and ordered the commission to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper and adjourned till September 8, 2017 for any party interested in the properties to appear before the court to state why the temporary forfeiture order should not be made permanent.
Listed as first to sixth respondents in the suit are Mrs. Alison-Madueke, Donald Amamgbo, and four firms – Chapel Properties Limited, Blue Nile Estate Limited, Azinga Meadows Limited, and Vistapoint Property Development Limited.
In an affidavit filed in support of the ex parte application, an EFCC investigator, Sombori Mayana, said the EFCC got wind of the properties in 2016 following the execution of a search warrant on the office and premises of Amamgbo, said to be Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s acquaintance.
The investigator averred, “Among the documents recovered from the office of Mr. Donald Chidi Amamgbo was an undated report that contained a list of 18 companies and several properties located in the United Kingdom, Nigeria and the United States of America.
“During the course of his interview, Mr. Donald Amamgbo told us that he registered the 18 companies to assist Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke in holding titles of the properties.”
Mr. Mayana averred that a principal manager and Head of Business Development of FBN Mortgages Ltd., Bolanle Onotu, confirmed that the properties were sold by her organization to Mrs. Alison-Madueke’s alleged four proxy firms for N937m, N928m and N650m and received payment through First Bank account numbers 2004483850 and 2008133531 between September 23, 2011 and June 16, 2015.
“First Bank of Nigeria Plc stated that the source of the money was Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and that the bank picked up United States dollars from her house at 10 Frederick Chiluba Close off Jose Marti Street, Asokoro, Abuja,” Mr. Mayana added.

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