22nd February, 2023
By Akin Kuponiyi
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday granted an order of interim forfeiture of 14 property linked to the Kogi State Government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The property are scattered across Lagos, Abuja and the United Arab Emirates.
The presiding Judge, Nicholas Oweibo granted the order following an ex-parte application filed before the court by the EFCC’s Legal officer, Rotimi Oyedepo SAN.
According to the EFCC the property, including the one in the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, were reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activity.
Justice Oweibo also ordered the EFCC to confiscate the sum of N400 million also linked to the state and recovered from one Aminu Falala.
The N400 million 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, Nigeria.”
The judge also directed the commission to publish the order within 14 days for any interested party to show cause why the forfeiture order should not be made absolute.