BEVERLY HILLS, June 06, (THEWILL) – Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday ordered the final forfeiture of $43.4m, £27,800, N23,218,000 recovered from one of the flats in Osborne, Ikoyi to the Federal Government.
THEWILL had exclusively reported the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, as claiming ownership of the $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23, 218,000 seized by the EFCC from Osborne Towers, a luxury residential complex in Ikoyi, Lagos, said to be owned by ex-National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Adamu Muazu.
But when the matter came up for hearing on May 5, 2017, no one came before the judge to claim the money.
On Tuesday, the judge ordered the permanent forfeiture of the monies after he had given 14 days for anyone interested in the funds to appear before him to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
A private lawyer, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, however came with an application before the judge for the final forfeiture proceedings to be suspended pending when a three-man panel constituted by President Muhammadu Buhari over the funds submit its report.
But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had opposed Ogungbeje’s application and urged Justice Hassan to dismiss it and go ahead with the forfeiture proceedings.
Ruling on Tuesday, Justice Hassan upheld the submission of the EFCC
and dismissed Ogungbeje’s application for lacking in merit.
Describing the application as totally strange, he pointed out that having not appealed against the interim forfeiture order, Ogungbeje had no right to seek a stay of proceedings in the case.
The judge, who noted that Ogungbeje was not a party in the suit filed by the EFCC, described the lawyer as a meddlesome interloper and a busybody, adding that his application was strange to law.
He advised the legal practitioner to explore the Freedom of Information Act if he wanted information from the Federal Government on the findings of the Osinbajo’s panel.
Having dismissed Ogungbeje’s application, the judge subsequently made an order permanently forfeiting the funds to the Federal Government, noting that no one had appeared to show cause why the permanent forfeiture order should not be made.
The judge held, “I am in complete agreement with the submission of the learned counsel for the applicant (EFCC) that the property sought to be attached are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and that by every standard this huge sum of money is not expected to be kept without going through a designated financial institution; more so, nobody has shown cause why the said sum should not be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Having regard to the foregoing, I have no other option but to grant this application as prayed.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, I hereby make the following orders: 1. A final order is made forfeiting the sums of $43,449,947 found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at Flat 7B of No. 16 Osborne Road, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, which sum is reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
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