We’re awaiting FG’s directive to auction Diezani’s N14.4bn jewellery, $80m houses –EFCC

File: Diezani Alison-Madueke

…Reps grill Emefiele next week over recoveries, withdrawals

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has said it is awaiting the presidential order to auction the jewellery seized from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, valued at about N14.46bn and houses estimated at $80m.

The Chairman of the EFCC, AbdulRasheed Bawa, made this known in Abuja on Friday when he appeared before the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective Efficient Management and Utilisation.

Members of the committee and the audience at the venue were shocked by the revelation.

Bawa, however, stated that the “estimated value” of the forfeited jewellery was not determined by the EFCC, adding that the houses finally forfeited by the ex-minister had been valued at about $80m.

The committee consequently resolved to inspect the seized items to assess their current state, especially the houses, which the lawmakers worried might have lost value due to their state of abandonment.

The committee had earlier grilled Bawa behind closed doors over withdrawals from the recovered assets account for security purposes.

Reps member Adejoro Adeogun also asked about the Diezani jewellery, saying, “Are they still in your custody or have they been turned into cash?”

Bawa said, “No, they are in our custody. They have not been auctioned yet. They have been finally forfeited, just like the houses, vehicles, etc., and the commission is looking forward to the presidential committee auctioning all those items and depositing the money appropriately. We got it (final forfeiture order) sometime in 2019.”

The committee chairman, however, decried that the seized assets were being left to depreciate and become a loss to the country. He asked, “Given the financial situation of Nigeria, shouldn’t we auction these things fast and put the money to use?”

The EFCC chairman noted that a lot of processes were involved and due to the “certain things that happened.” He said now that the Federal Government had set up a committee on assets recovery, seized property would be auctioned soon.

Adeogun asked, “Members are keen to know the total value of the jewellery. It is on the paper (presented to Bawa); can you please read it out? Is that the value of one person’s jewellery?”

Bawa said, “It is the estimated value that we have. The estimated value in naira was given at N14,460,000,000.”