Friday, December 20, 2024 - Justice Deinde Dipeoplu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of a warehouse built on a landed property measuring 1.925 hectares of land along the Lagos/Ibadan expressway in Magboro, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The court also ordered the permanent forfeiture of 54 general purpose
steel containers.
Channels TV reports that the court made the order for the final
forfeiture to the federal government of Nigeria, after the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) moved an application for the forfeiture of
the assets since no person or organisation came forward to claim them.
On November 28, the judge had ordered the interim forfeiture of the
assets while directing the EFCC to publish the order in the national newspaper,
for any interested person to appear before the court and show cause why it
should not be finally forfeited.
But at the resumed hearing today, EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN),
told the court that the commission had complied with the court’s directives.
Oyedepo also submitted that the final forfeiture order was brought
pursuant to Section 44(2)(B) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria 1999 (As Amended); and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other
Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and under the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
The lawyer also asked the court to make “a final forfeiture order to the
Federal Government of Nigeria, properties contained in Schedule A; a warehouse
built on a landed property measuring 1.925 hectares, lying, being and situate
at Km 8, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Magboro and 54 General purpose steel
containers, which are reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds
of unlawful activities.”
After listening to the anti-graft agency’s lawyer and reading through
all the processes filed before the court with the authorities cited, Justice
Dipeolu, granted the relief sought and ordered the final forfeiture of all the
assets.
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