| Diezani Alison-Madueke |
Ahead of preparation for the trial of a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, detectives from the United Kingdom have stormed Nigeria for what appeared a final lap of investigation.
The detectives, who met with the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for additional fact-finding, have already spent a week in the country.
It was not certain if the latest bend of the investigation will last longer than a week, but there were indications that the detectives gathered more evidence and sought a few clarifications on some findings at their disposal.
It was learnt that the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill 2019, signed into law about a week ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, might help in the bid to confiscate Diezani’s assets at home and abroad.
The commission has so far traced N47.2 billion and $487.5 million to the ex-minister.
The agency also claimed that Diezani has N23,446,300,000 and $5 million (about N1.5 billion) in various Nigerian banks.
The EFCC has also secured final forfeiture orders on the following assets of Diezani: about $37.5 million Banana Island property; Heritage Court Estate, Plot 2C, Omerelu Street, Diobu Port Harcourt; 135 Awolowo Road/ Plot 808 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi; and 7, Hurnburn Street and 5, Raymond Street, Yaba, Lagos.