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A nod was today granted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to temporarily seize 14 properties and firms in Lagos, Abuja, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) linked to alleged fraud by some Kogi State government officials.
The nod was given by a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, presided over by Justice Nicholas Oweibo, following an ex parte motion by counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
Justice Oweibo equally allowed the anti-graft agency to confiscate the sum of N400 million recovered from one Aminu Falala in connection with the alleged fraud.
The SAN had informed the judge that the application came sequel to the Commission's probe of “damning intelligence of monumental fraud allegedly perpetrated by some principal officers of the Kogi State Government and their cronies.”
Oyedepo (SAN) alleged that through the fraud, “huge sums of money belonging to the Kogi State Government were fraudulently converted and used to either outrightly acquire properties or renovate already existing but dilapidated buildings.”
The SAN notified Justice Oweibo in the suit designated FHC/L/CS/301/2023 that the properties were reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity.
Oyedepo further told the court that the N400m was reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity “and intended to be used for the acquisition of Plot No. 1224 Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.”
In his decision, Justice Oweibo ordered the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper within 14 days for any interested party to show cause why the forfeiture order should not be made permanent.
The case was then adjourned until March 28 for a report on compliance with the order.
It would be recalled that the motion ex-parte dated February 17, 2023, sought a “preservation order of properties reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity pursuant to Sections 9 and 10 of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022 and Section 44(2)B of the 1999 Constitution.
The 14 properties affected by the order include Plot No. 1160, within Cadastral Zone CO3, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja; No. 2, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro Abuja; Block ‘D’, Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja; Plot A 02/176 Block 488B, Lome Street, Wuse Zone 1, Abuja; Fair Plus International Limited at No. 2 Kubwa Resettlement Area Cadastral Zone E1, Abuja; Fair Plus International Limited, at No 41 Ikorodu Road, Jibowu, Mushin, Lagos State; Fair Plus International Limited at No. 2, Bisi Odunsanya Street, Agege Motor Road, Agege Lagos State; Plot No. 1773 Guzape District, Abuja; and No B13, Citiscape-Shariff Plaza, lying, being and situate at plot 739 Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2 Abuja.
The UAE property is Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, Plot 160 Municipality NO 345-7562, Sky View Building No 1, Property No 401, Floor 4, Dubai U.A.E.
Others include Plot No. 2934A, Cadastral Zone A06, also known as, No. 1 Ikogosi Spring Close, Maitama District, Abuja; Plot No. 1058, measuring about 1450.77sqm in Cadastral Zone AO8, Wuse 2, also known as No. 2, Durban Street, Abuja; Plot No. 1981, Maitama District, also known as No. 6, Dala Hills, Abuja, and the sum of N400million allegedly recovered from Falala.
The SAN backed the motion ex-parte application with an affidavit deposed to by an EFCC officer, Adekunbi Mojibola, who was part of the team that investigated the case.
In the application, Mojibola averred that the Kogi State government opened account number 1010662710 with a new generation bank with the name Kogi State Government House Admin.
Mojibola also averred in her affidavit that the owner of the account between February 2016 and 3rd September 2021, procured one Abdulsalam Hudu to make cash withdrawals of N46,039,579,919.38 (billion) from the account.
According to the deponent, "Comfort Olufunke was equally procured to make a cash withdrawal of N2,402,533,621.00 (billion) from the same account between 23rd March 2016 and 30th April 2018.
She claimed that Hudu, between 6th August and 29th September 2019, “whilst fraudulently working in concert with his syndicate, withdrew in cash the total sum of N612,650,000 (million) from an account known as Kogi State House Administration (operation) with account number 0793190623.
The deponent further revealed that between February 2016 and 22nd October 2021, “Hudu in a desperate bid to conceal the proceeds of the several unlawful activities whilst working in concert with other principal officers of the state, made a cash withdrawal of N34,206,890,170.50 (billion) from the account known as Government House Admin Lokoja with account number 1003889575.
She further claimed that “A peep into the registers has revealed that about N7,900,000,000 (Billion) from the cash withdrawals made by Abdulsalam Hudu and his cronies from the account of Kogi State Government were concealed in the care and custody of Murtala Maigari and his associates.”
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