The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, secured the final forfeiture of a large estate located in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court granted the order following a forfeiture order filed by the EFCC
In a statement, the spokesperson of the anti-graft agency, Dele Oyewale, said the estate, which measures 150,500 square metres and contains 753 units of duplexes and other apartments, is the largest single asset the EFCC has recovered since it was set up in 2003.
The individual who forfeited the property was not mentioned, but Oyewale said it belonged to a “former top brass of the government”.
“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,” he said.
“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.
“In this instance, the Commission 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 Constitution of the 199 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to push its case.
“The Establishment Act of the Commission places huge emphasis on asset recovery.”
The EFCC spokesperson said the judge held that the respondent did not show cause as to why he should not lose the property.
Oyewale quoted Ola Olukoyede, EFCC’s chair, as saying that asset recovery is “pivotal in the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes and a major disincentive against the corrupt and the fraudulent”.
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