Lagos: Court orders forfeiture of properties, cars, N326.4m, $480,000 to FG

The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, ordered a final forfeiture of two properties, several cars, and cash to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Justice Daniel Osiagor gave the order, following a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), through its lawyer, H.U. Kofarnaisa. 

The EFCC, in a statement, disclosed that the properties include one unit of three-bedroom bungalow in Abuja; No. 8, Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarimpa FCT, Abuja; one Mercedes Benz C300; one gray- coloured BMW 3 Series SUV; one Black coloured  Range Rover 2012; three Toyota Hilux of 2008, 2010 and 2014 models; one black coloured  BMW SURXI 2016 and two Range Rover vehicle. 

 Others consist of a cash sum of N326,400,000 (Three Hundred and Twenty Six Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira) and another  $480,000 (Four Hundred and Eighty Thousand United States Dollars).

 Justice Osiagor had earlier ordered the interim forfeiture of the properties and also ordered the publication of the said order in a national newspaper for any interested parties to show cause why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.

The anti-agency’s lawyer, while moving the application for the final forfeiture today, told the court that the application was supported by an affidavit deposed to by Sulaiman Aminu Muhammad, an investigating officer of the EFCC.

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In the affidavit, Muhammad told the court that the Commission received a petition from a first-generation bank complaining of a monumental fraud allegedly committed on the account of some of its customers, totaling N1,403,343,400.00 (One Billion, Four Hundred and Three Million, Three Hundred and Forty Three Thousand Four Hundred Naira).

“Muhammad also stated that the bank subsequently submitted an addendum to the petition dated July 24, 2023, wherein the total sum of N2,007,000,000 (Two Billion Seven Million Naira) was fraudulently stolen from the customers of the bank,” the EFCC statement reads.

According to him, the bank discovered that some customers’ accounts were debited in a manner other than the pattern familiar to the bank, which led to an internal investigation by the Audit Unit of the bank.

He further stated that the investigation revealed that Atus Homes Limited fraudulently received a total sum of N681,200,000 (Six Hundred and Eighty-one Million, Two Hundred Thousand ) from 126 customers’ accounts in different tranches.

Investigation also revealed that “Fav Oil & Gas Limited fraudulently received a cumulative sum of N1,388,000,000 (One Billion Three Hundred and Eighty Eight Million naira) from 429 customers’ accounts in different tranches.

“That the total sum of N887,478,600.00 of the sum fraudulently stolen was transferred to various accounts in other banks.”

Kofarnaisa, thereafter, submitted that the said accounts warehousing the funds sought to be forfeited received inflows reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and are not proceeds of any legitimate business venture.

She also told the court that the mastermind of this fraudulent crime had been charged before a Federal High  Court and that “trial is ongoing.”

After listening to the EFCC counsel, Justice Osiagor held that he found merit in the argument of the applicant and ordered the final forfeiture of the properties to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

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