Diezani’s ally loses bid to recover property forfeited to FG

MR. Olajide Omokore, an ally of former Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, yesterday, lost his bid to recover his property forfeited to the Federal Government by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, as his suit was struck out.

Omokore had filed the suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, seeking to  secure the release of his property  temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government by the order of the court.

At the hearing in the matter, yesterday,  Omokore’s lawyer, O. Achimiwu told the court that his client wants to discontinue the matter against the EFCC, though  he did not state any reason for the discontinuance as there was  no legal representation for EFCC.

Consequently, the trial judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun struck out the case.

Omokore had in an affidavit in support of the suit averred that the allegations levied against him and two  companies,  Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited which he has vested interest by the EFCC are in relation to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited allegations of breach of specific terms of the contract agreement embodied in a Strategic Alliance Agreements, SAA, between the two companies and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited, NPDC, in respect of eight oil blocks.

He stated that under the SAA the companies were obliged to render some services to the NPDC and also remit some monies accruing from the services to the Federal Government through the Petroleum company.

It was averred that the contract agreement was on-going and being performed until it was alleged that the companies were in default of certain sums of remittances.

Based on the differences and disagreement over remittances, parties were already in the process of agreeing on the terms of unremitted payment to resolve the issue, when EFCC waded into the matter and said it was investigating the contract agreement, which it claimed was contrary to the provisions under SAA for parties to go to arbitration to resolve their differences.