The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), AbdulRasheed Bawa, says the jewellery and houses seized from a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, will soon be auctioned.
Bawa, when he appeared before the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots Movable and Immovable Assets on Friday, said the jewellery was valued at N14.46 billion and houses worth $80 million.
He said the commission was waiting for the approval from the presidential committee established to auction forfeited items before turning the items into cash.
House of Representative member, Adejoro Adeogun, asked, “Are they (jewellery) still in your custody or have they been turned into cash?”
EFCC chairman said now that the Federal Government had set up a committee on assets recovery, seized property would be auctioned soon.
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Bawa said, “It (jewellery) is the estimated value that we have. The estimated value in naira was given at N14,460,000,000.
“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 expressed concern that the seized assets were being abandoned and allowed to depreciate in value.
He asked, “Given the financial situation of Nigeria, shouldn’t we auction these things fast and put the money to use?”
Meanwhile, Adeogun announced that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, is expected to appear before the committee next week.
