The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of the 2,149 pieces of jewelry and a customized gold iPhone valued at $40 million which were recovered from the residence of  former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Delivering the judgment on Tuesday, Justice Nicholas  Oweibo held that Diezani, through her lawyer, Awa Kalu (SAN) failed to show cause why the said items should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had told the court that the said jewelry and iPhone were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of fraud. 

The anti-graft agency argued that Diezani could not have purchased the said items with her legitimate earnings as a former petroleum minister and thus they should be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.