“We’ve recovered $153m from Diezani” — EFCC Chairman

…Says he won’t pay allegiance to individuals in the govt.

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), AbdulRasheed Bawa, said on Tuesday that the Commission has recovered a whopping $153 million from former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison Madueke, who has been staying in Britain since leaving office in 2015.

He said apart from that, no fewer than 80 choice properties valued at $80 million has also been seized from her and handed over to the Federal Government.

Bawa, who disclosed this, also served a notice that he was ready to relinquish his position if anyone brought pressure on him to do what was not legal in the discharge of his duties.

The EFCC chairman also said that bringing the former Minister to Justice was still far from reality, given the fact that she was out of Nigeria’s jurisdiction and the challenges associated with bringing her home to face justice.

According to him: “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”.

The EFCC chairman, while responding to a question as to how he would be dealing with powerful government officials in the discharge of his assignment as EFCC chair, said he would be ready to leave the job if anyone tried to make him do what was illegal, saying, “I am not going to pay allegiance to individuals in the government.

“It is a challenge I have taken upon myself to do without fear or favour. If anybody is coming to ask me to do something that is contrary to my conscience or what the EFCC is set out to achieve, I’m going to resign”, Bawa stated.

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