Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has on Tuesday, 23rd October 2019 ordered the temporary forfeiture of three landed properties belonging to Kola Aluko, an ally to Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Minister of petroleum resources.
It was gathered that the properties are a $55 million mansion at Plot 1391 Tiamiyu Savage street, Victoria Island, Lagos; Plot 3389 and Plot 3390, house 2, Margaret Thatcher close, Asokoro Cadastral Zone, Abuja.
In his ruling, Mohammed Liman, the trial judge gave the order of an ex parte application filed by Rotimi Oyedepo, EFCC’s lawyer.
Oyedepo had prayed for the judge that section 17 of the advance fee fraud and other fraud-related offenses act no. 14, 2016 empowered the court to make such a forfeiture order.
According to the Commission of the Economic and Financial crime (EFCC), the funds used to procure the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities including diversion.
In the attached affidavit, Sambo Mayana, an operative of EFCC, informed the court that, the anti-graft agency investigated Aluko after receiving a damning intelligence report and a petition alleging fraud, lack of transparency and unethical conduct in the transfer of production rights in the oil mining leases against the respondent and his cronies from Debo Adeniran.
After careful study of the pieces of evidence provided, the judge directed the EFCC to publish the ruling in a national newspaper to enable any interested person to show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned till 12th, November 2019 for further proceedings.
