Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the confiscation and final forfeiture of multi-billion naira assets and investments belonging to convicted former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Nnabuoku, to the Federal Government.
Delivering ruling on a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Justice Omotosho held that the application was meritorious and in line with the law.
Citing previous decisions of the Supreme Court, the judge stated that forfeiture of proceeds of crime is a natural consequence of conviction in money laundering and related offences.
“In crimes such as money laundering, forfeiture of the proceeds of crime is deemed to be a natural consequence of conviction,” the judge held.
Justice Omotosho explained that Supreme Court authorities clearly establish that properties acquired through proceeds of crime are liable to forfeiture once the owner has been convicted.
The court noted that counsel to the convict argued that the matter was already before the Court of Appeal and that granting the forfeiture order would amount to an abuse of court process.
However, the judge ruled that the mere filing of a notice of appeal does not prevent the court from making a final forfeiture order on properties linked to unlawful activities.
He further held that granting the forfeiture order would not prejudice the outcome of the pending appeal.
On the issue of abuse of court process, Justice Omotosho said the convict failed to provide any evidence showing that a final forfeiture order had previously been granted or was being sought in another proceeding involving the same assets.
“In final analysis, the properties of the convict which have been identified to be purchased from proceeds of crime in this matter are hereby finally forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the judge ruled.
The court consequently ordered the confiscation and forfeiture of all assets listed in Schedules 1, 2, and 3 of the EFCC’s application, having been established as proceeds of unlawful activities.
The anti-graft agency had filed the motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/240/2024, on April 1, seeking an order forfeiting the assets and investments to the Federal Government.
Schedule 1 of the application contains funds traced to various bank accounts, including ₦12.5 million in Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited’s Zenith Bank account, ₦4.1 million in Turge Global Investment Limited’s account, and ₦682,904 in Laptev Bridge Limited’s account.
Also listed are ₦51.2 million in Arafura Transnational Afro Ltd’s account and ₦220 million allegedly refunded by Nnabuoku into the EFCC Recovery Account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Schedule 2 contains a five-bedroom standalone duplex located at No. 20, City Gate Estate, Kukwaba, Abuja, valued at ₦64 million, with an additional ₦3 million paid as infrastructural development levy.
According to the EFCC, the property key was voluntarily handed over by Nnabuoku as restitution.
Schedule 3 includes extensive investments in shares and stocks across several companies and financial institutions.
The assets include 10 million shares in Access Holdings, 7.5 million shares in First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc, 4.5 million shares in Guaranty Trust Holding Company, and over 10 million shares in UBA Plc.
Other investments listed include shares in Zenith Bank Plc, Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Cadbury Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Nascon Allied Industries Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Africa Prudential Registrar Plc, United Capital Plc, and Dunlop.
The EFCC told the court that the total current market value of the stocks stood at ₦1.94 billion as of March 29.
