Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, revealed on Monday its single greatest asset seizure since its founding in 2003.
The development came after Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court ruled on the ultimate forfeiture of an Abuja estate of 150,500 square meters and consisting of 753 duplexes and other flats.
According to the EFCC, the estate, located at Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, belongs to a government officer.
The statement said:
“The forfeiture of the property to the federal government by a former top brass of the government was pursuant to EFCC’s mandate and policy directive of ensuring that the corrupt and fraudulent do not enjoy the proceeds of their unlawful activities.”
The EFCC stated that it used Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud And Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006 and Section 44 (2) B of the 199 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to advance its case.
In ruling on the Commission’s motion for the property’s ultimate forfeiture, Justice Onwuegbuzie found that the respondent had not shown cause why he should not lose the property, “which has been reasonably suspected to have been acquired with the proceeds of unlawful activities”.
“The property is hereby finally forfeited to the Federal Government,” the judge ruled.
According to the statement:
“The road to the final forfeiture of the property was paved by an interim forfeiture order, secured before the same Judge on November 1, 2024.
“The government official which fraudulently built the estate is being investigated by the EFCC. The forfeiture of the asset is an important modality of depriving the suspect of the proceeds of the crime.
“The justification for the forfeiture is derived from Part 2, Section 7 of the EFCC Establishment Act, which stipulates that the EFCC “has power to cause investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes and cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the Commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.”
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cc: Daily Post Ng
