| Emefiele owns The 753 Duplexes In Abuja Forfeited To EFCC -Sowore Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, on Monday, December 2, 2024 gave a ruling on a final forfeiture of an estate in Abuja measuring 150,500 square metres and containing 753 Units of duplexes and other apartments. This is the single largest 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, Abuja. The forfeiture of the property to the federal government by a former top brass of the government was pursuant to EFCC’s mandate and policy directive of ensuring that the corrupt and fraudulent do not enjoy the proceeds of their unlawful activities. 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. Ruling on the Commission’s application for the final forfeiture of the property, Justice Onwuegbuzie held that the respondent have not shown cause as to why he should not lose the property, “which has been reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities, the property is hereby finally forfeited to the federal 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. 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. The justification for the forfeiture is derived from Part 2, Section 7 of the EFCC Establishment Act, which stipulates that the EFCC “has power to cause investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes and cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the Commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.” The Commission’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has repeatedly described asset recovery as pivotal in the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes and a major disincentive against the corrupt and the fraudulent. Addressing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-corruption recently, he said, “If you understand the intricacies involved in financial crimes investigation and prosecution you will discover that to recover one billion naira is war. So, I told my people that the moment we start investigation we must also start asset tracing because asset recovery is pivotal in the anti-corruption fight; and one of the potent instruments that you can deploy as an anti-corruption agency for an effective fight is asset tracing and recovery. If you allow the corrupt or those that you are investigating to have access to the proceeds of their crime, they will fight you with it. So one of the ways to weaken them is to deprive them of the proceeds of their crime. So, our modus operandi has changed simultaneously. The moment we begin investigation, we begin asset tracing. That was what helped us to make our recoveries.”   WHO OWNS THEM? Former Central Bank Governor Emefiele Is Nigerian ‘Top Brass’ Who Owns 753 Duplexes In Abuja Estate Forfeited To EFCC  A former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, [b]Godwin Emefiele, owns the large estate in Abuja with 753 duplexes forfeited to the Nigerian government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a court ruling on Monday. Human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, confirmed the development in a post on social media. Emefiele is standing trial on several charges bordering on corruption, including in the new naira redesign before the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court in Maitama, Abuja. Justice Maryann Anenih had adjourned the matter till December 4, 2024, and January 21, 2025 for continuation of trial. Sowore had earlier blasted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for refusing to name the former Nigerian “top brass” who owned the large estate in Abuja with 753 duplexes. Sowore, former presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 general elections, had noted on Monday that the EFFC is now afraid of big thieves and has become their public relations officer. In an update, the human rights activist said, “I just heard from the grapevine that the 753 duplexes forfeited by an FCT court in Apo belong to Muhammadu Buhari’s CBN gov, Godwin Emefiele.” SaharaReporters earlier reported that Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, on Monday, ordered the final forfeiture of an estate in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, measuring 150,500 square metres and containing 753 Units of duplexes and other apartments. The EFCC said in a release that this was the single largest asset recovery by the Commission since its inception in 2003. The estate rests on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja. According to Sowore, the same EFCC which deliberately refused to name the seized 753 duplexes Abuja estate boldly and without commencement of court trial, published names and photos of yahoo boys with proud display of laptops and small Nokia phones. Sowore, who said this in a post on his verified social media account wrote, “What is the name of the “former top brass” with 753 duplexes seized by the EFCC in Abuja? “The @officialEFCC is now doing PR for thieves. They seized this large estate with 753 duplexes from a single individual in Abuja but can’t mention his or her name. “If it is Yahoo boys, they will line laptops and Nokia phones in front of them and send their photos globally even before their trial is commenced. The same EFCC is now AFRAID of BIG Thieves!” In another post, Sowore wrote, “They have told you every day since the days of the Structural Adjustment Program of IBB and Co. that the government has no business building houses for citizens, but a “TOP Brass” stole from citizens and built 753 duplexes for himself.” “The forfeiture of the property to the federal government by a former top brass of the government was pursuant to EFCC’s mandate and policy directive of ensuring that the corrupt and fraudulent do not enjoy the proceeds of their unlawful activities. “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 EFCC had said. Ruling on the Commission’s application for the final forfeiture of the property, Justice Onwuegbuzie held that the respondent have not shown cause as to why he should not lose the property, “which has been reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities, the property is hereby finally forfeited to the federal government.” |
