By Chukwudi Obasi, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has achieved its most significant single asset recovery since its establishment in 2003, following the final forfeiture of an estate comprising 753 duplexes and apartments in Abuja.
This was disclosed in a statement yesterday on the official X account of the Commission.
The Estate, covering 150,500 square metres in Lokogoma District, was forfeited yesterday to the Federal Government by order of Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie.
According to the EFCC, the Estate, located on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, belonged to a government official being investigated for money laundering.
However, the anti-graft agency did not mention the name of the government official.
They described this development as a “milestone in the annals of their operation.”
The FCT Federal High Court in Abuja issued the final forfeiture of the Estate upon an application by the EFCC.
Onwuegbuzie ruled on the Commission’s application for the final forfeiture of the property.
He held that the respondent failed to show reason why he should not lose the property.
He ruled that the property, “Which has been reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities, is finally forfeited to the Federal Government.”
The EFCC alleged that the government official from whom the asset was seized “fraudulently built the estate, which 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,” EFCC said in its statement.
It added, “This is the most significant asset recovery by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, since its inception in 2003. The Estate rests on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, of Abuja.
“The forfeiture of the property to the federal government by a former top brass of the government was under EFCC’s mandate and policy directive of ensuring that the corrupt and fraudulent do not enjoy the proceeds of their unlawful activities,” the statement added.
The EFCC said it relied on 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 support its case.
In ruling on the Commission’s application for the final forfeiture of the property, Justice Onwuegbuzie held that the respondent had not shown cause why he should not lose the property, “which has been reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
The Judge declared, “The property is hereby finally forfeited to the Federal Government. An interim forfeiture order secured before the same Judge on November 1, 2024, paved the road to the final forfeiture of the property.”
The statement added that EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede has repeatedly described asset recovery as pivotal in the fight against corruption, describing it as a major disincentive against the corrupt and fraudulent.
