Diezani, Cecilia Ibru, Bala Mohammed, 25 others to lose Dubai assets

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Managing Director of the defunct Oceanic Bank, Cecilia Ibru, former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed and his son, Shamsudeen are reportedly among those that will lose their Dubai assets.

This followed the signing of six agreements by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Nigerian government.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had traced eight choice assets to Mrs. Ibru and two to the ex-Petroleum Minister, while profiling of more than 25 Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) is ongoing.

An EFCC source told The Nation: “Following due diligence by the EFCC, the Federal Government has already compiled a list of first batch of suspects with houses in Dubai, whose assets ought to be attached.

“The government will soon formally apply to the UAE for the seizure of the assets traced to these Nigerians.

“Despite the fact that many assets were said to be allegedly owned by Mrs. Ibru, only eight choice mansions has been identified by the EFCC.

“The ex-Petroleum Minister has two apartments, including the one marked as J5 Emirates Hills (30 million Dirham) and another tagged E146 Emirates Hills, valued at 44million Dirham.

“The EFCC is also profiling more than 25 PEPs based on the huge database from the UAE.

“Some of these assets are in Emirates Hills, Marina, Jumeira, Bur Dubai in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE. “We are yet to focus on looted funds stashed in the Emirates”.

The agreements signed by President Buhari last week are:

Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement;
Agreement on Trade Promotion and Protection;
Judicial Agreements on Extradition;
Transfer of Sentenced Persons;
Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters; and
Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal and Commercial Matters (recovery and repatriation of stolen wealth).