The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the final confiscation of real estate worth 3 billion naira which is said to have been seized from “a high-ranking military officer”.
The name of the officer’s military high command was not given in the statement from the Commission of Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) announcing the forfeiture order on Monday.
However, it revealed that the assets were controlled by the military officer through proxies, including the late General Aminu Maude, and some companies such as Atlasfield Integrated Services Nigeria Limited, Marhaba Events Place, Aflac Plastics and Atlasfield Gas Plant Limited.
The judge, Nkeoye Maha, granted the final forfeiture order in a ruling on the request of EFCC’s lawyer, Cosmos Ugwu and Musa Isah.
Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesman, who signed the EFCC statement, said that the confiscated properties situated on land valued at over N3 billion are located in different parts of Kano, Katsina, Calabar (Cross River State) and Kaduna.
They also included gas stations, event centers, plazas, block industries, a truck assembly plant, a polyethylene production factory, and a table water factory.
Some of the properties include an undeveloped plot located in Rake, adjacent to Dara Orthopedic Hospital, Kano valued at N300 million; 117 hectares of land located in Adiabo, Oduapani LG covered by Certificate of Occupancy No. OD/23/2011 dated 2/21/2011 in Calabar, Cross River State, valued at N386 million; Truck assembly on Ring Road, next to AA Affa Service Station, Kano, valued at N206 million and Marhaba Event Centre, Guda Abdulahi Road Farm Centre, Kano valued at N250 million.
READ THE FULL EFCC STATEMENT
EFCC press release
EFCC secures final confiscation of real estate valued at over N3.7 billion
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on February 14, 2022, secured the final confiscation of 20 (twenty) real estate properties valued at more than N3, 007, 000, 000 (three billion and seven million naira) belonging to a high military officer. but controlled through proxies, including the late General Aminu Maude, and companies such as Atlasfield Integrated Services Nigeria Limited, Marhaba Events Place, Aflac Plastics and Atlasfield Gas Plant Limited.
Judge N. E Maha of the Abuja-based Federal High Court granted the order while ruling on the request by EFCC lawyers Cosmos Ugwu and Musa Isah.
In May 2020, the Court ordered the provisional confiscation of the properties following an ex parte request from the Commission, alleging that the assets were the proceeds of illicit activities.
The court, after considering the application in respect of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offenses Act 2006, more particularly subsections 1 and 3 thereof, granted the sentences of the Commission for provisional confiscation and ordered the publication of notices alerting anyone interested in the properties to show cause why they should not be confiscated to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In the absence of a challenge, the court today ordered the definitive confiscation of the properties.
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The seized properties, situated on land valued at more than N3,007,000,000 (three billion and seven million naira) are located in different parts of Kano, Katsina, Calabar (Cross River State) and Kaduna. They included fuel stations, event centers, plazas, block industries, truck assembly plant, polyethylene production factory, and table water factory.
Some of the properties include an undeveloped plot located in Rake, adjacent to Dara Orthopedic Hospital, Kano valued at N300,000,000 (three hundred million naira); 117 hectares of land located in Adiabo, Oduapani L,G covered by Certificate of Occupancy No. OD/23/2011 dated 2/21/2011 in Calabar, State of Cross River, valued at N386,000,000 (Three Hundred and Eighty six million naira); Truck assembly at Ring Road, adjacent to AA Affa Service Station, Kano, valued at N206,000,000 (two hundred and six million naira) and Marhaba Event Centre, Guda Abdulahi Road Farm Centre, Kano valued at N250,000, 000 (two hundred and fifty million naira).
Wilson Uwujaren
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February 14, 2022