Justice Saliu Sadu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the temporary forfeiture of Flat 7B Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, to the Federal Government.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had discovered the sums of $43, 449, 947, £27,800 and N23, 218 kept in iron cabinets and jute bags, otherwise known as ‘Ghana-must-go’ bags, in the apartment on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.
This is just as an Abuja Court has ordered the remand of two Army officers and bank officials over an alleged N339m Military Pension Scam.
A statement from the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said the Osborn money had since been permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Justice Sadu gave the forfeiture order on the flat, following an ex parte application filed by the counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo.
Oyedepo had, on May 5, 2017, revealed that the wife of a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, Folashade, owns the apartment.
She was said to have made a cash payment of $1.658m for the flat between August 25 and September 3, 2015 in the name of a company, Chobe Ventures Limited.
She and her son, Ayodele Oke Jnr., were said to be directors in the company.
Oke was also said to have made the cash payment in tranches of $700,000, $650,000 and $353,700 to a Bureau de Change operator, Sulah Petroleum and Gas Limited, who later converted the money to N360,000,000 and subsequently paid it to Fine and Country Limited for the purchase of the property.
In his ruling on the application today, Justice Sadu directed the EFCC to publish the forfeiture order within 14 days in any of the national dailies as notice to Chobe Ventures, its directors or any interested persons to appear before the court to show cause why the property should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The case was adjourned to November 30, 2017.
In a related development, Justice D. Z. Senchi of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Jabi, Abuja on Thursday, November 9, 2017 ordered the remand of four suspected military pension fraudsters in Kuje Prison over their alleged complicity in stealing military pension funds to the tune of N339million.
The suspects: Wing Commander Ishaka Yakubu, Lieutenant Commander Akinbamidele Odunsi, Abidemi Aderemi Kolade and Violet Ofoegbunam were alleged to have conspired to collect monies meant for payment of death benefits to deceased army officers, and converted same to personal use.
The offence breaches Section 315 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 LFN (Abuja) 1990, and punishable under the same Act.
The suspects were arraigned on Thursday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 6-count charge of conspiracy and stealing of pension funds.
One of the counts reads:
“That you, Wing Commander Ishaka Yakubu ‘m’ while serving as a cashier with the Military Pension Board, Lieutenant Commander Akinbamidele Odunsi ‘M’ being an Assistant Director, computer, while serving with the Military Pension Board, Mrs Abidemi Aderemi Kolade ‘F’ being a Relationship Manager while serving with United Bank for Africa, UBA Plc, Kuforudua Branch- Abuja and Violet Ofoegbunam ‘F’ being a Branch Manager, while serving with UBA Plc, Kuforodua Branch-Abuja, on or about February, 2016 in Abuja within the Jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, while being entrusted with dominion over money belonging to the Nigeria Military Pension Board, dishonestly converted to your own use, the sum of N339.374million only, which was withdrawn from the Military Pension Board Account with pretence that the said sum represented payments to the supposed next of kin to deceased Nigerians as death benefit, that the said monies were paid and withdrawn in tranches and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 97 of the Penal Code Cap 532 LFN ( Abuja) 1990”.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In view of their plea, counsel to the EFCC, Steve Odiase, asked the court to fix a date for hearing and to remand the accused persons in custody pending trial.
Odiase invited the court to take note of the fact that, Yakubu and Odunsi (1st and 2nd defendants) had on several dates refused to come to court, “an attempt aimed at frustrating efforts to have them arraigned over the alleged offence”.
He urged the court to impose stringent conditions should it be persuaded to admitting the defendants to bail.
However, Yakubu’s counsel, Patrick Ediale, informed the court of a pending application dated November 2, 2017, praying the court to admit his client to bail.
He urged the court to exercise its discretion in favour of the defendant saying, “he is presumed innocent until the contrary is proved”.
Other counsel in the defence also joined in seeking bail for their clients.
Justice Senchi, while ordering the remand of the defendants adjourned to November 13, for hearing of their bail applications.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
