BEVERLY HILLS, July 17, (THEWILL) – A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has dismissed a move by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking the final forfeiture of two houses in Ilorin, Kwara State, belonging to a former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.
In his ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice Rilwan Aikawa held that the contention of the EFCC that the property was acquired with illegal funds was based on mere suspicion.
He stated that the evidence placed before the court was to the effect that the property was substantially financed with money paid to Saraki as a former governor, in line with the Kwara State Governor and Deputy Governor Payment of Pension Law.
The Pension Law provides that a two-term governor is entitled to a house within the state upon completion of his second tenure.
Justice Aikawa, therefore, discharged the interim order for forfeiture it had earlier granted in favour of the EFCC on December 2, 2019, and subsequently dismissed the EFCC’s application for final forfeiture of the property.
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