Justice Alexandra Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of 52 terrace and maisonette units located in the Lekki area of Lagos to the Federal Government of Nigeria, following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC).
The properties, situated at Mercyville Estate, Covenant Way, off New Road, Ilasan, Lagos, were recovered from Fielddreams Limited, Ifeanyi Nweke and Amex Savings and Loans Limited.
Justice Owoeye gave the order on Wednesday following a Motion on Notice filed and argued by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC through its counsel, Franklin Ofoma.
The commission had on 14 August 2024 secured an interim forfeiture of the properties through an order granted by Justice Akintayo Aluko, following an ex parte application.
The interim order was made in favour of Dr Kennedy Okonkwo, a real estate developer and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Gardens Limited.
Justice Aluko also directed the EFCC to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper, inviting any interested party to show cause why the properties should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
Following the publication, the respondents filed an affidavit to show cause against the final forfeiture.
In paragraphs 16 to 25 of their affidavit, the respondents stated that the funds used to develop the 52 units were derived from the sale of a portion of land acquired through the sale of 29 terrace and maisonette units valued at N1.9bn.
They subsequently contradicted their earlier position, accusing the third to 19th applicants of failing to complete the various units.
This directly conflicted with their earlier affidavit, in which they stated that they had used the sale proceeds to complete the furnishing and interior decoration of the remaining units and that construction had been completed in 2020.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, Ofoma informed the court that the EFCC had fully complied with the publication order and that the application was supported by a 31-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Afolabi Seyi Oladele, a litigation officer in the commission’s legal department.
He submitted that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
Ofoma also informed the court that the second respondent, Nweke, was a criminal fugitive who had refused to appear before Justice R.A. Oshodi and Justice Okunuga for arraignment in two separate charge numbers.
He said two warrants of arrest were subsisting against Nweke and that he had jumped administrative bail earlier granted him by the commission.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Owoeye rejected the entire affidavit evidence filed by the first to third respondents on account of the contradictions within it.
“Since this court cannot pick and choose which of the evidence given by respondents to believe, it must consequently reject the entire affidavit evidence placed before it,” she held, before ordering the final forfeiture of the 52 units to the Federal Government.
(The Whistler)