$153million,80 Assets Recovered From Diezani

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has disclosed that the commission has recovered $153 million from former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who has been living in Britain since leaving office.

He also said the anti-graft agency recovered no fewer than 80 choice property valued at $80m.

This was contained in the April edition of the EFCC magazine, EFCC Alert.

But the EFCC chief was quick to add that bringing the former minister to justice was still far from reality, given the fact that she was out of Nigeria’s jurisdiction, acknowledging the challenges associated with bringing her home to face justice.

The chairman disclosed that , “There are several cases surrounding Diezani’s case. I was part of that investigation, and we have done quite a lot. In one of the cases, we recovered $153 million; we have secured the final forfeiture of over 80 properties in Nigeria valued at about $80 million. We have done quite a bit on that”.

Besides, Bawa said the trial of all those involved in the $115 million poll bribery scandal has not been discontinued, adding that the EFCC was awaiting the return of Mrs. Alison-Madueke to the country.

On Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), Bawa said: “It’s a huge challenge to get the proceeds of crime repatriated to Nigeria.”