Corruption: EFCC Secures Forfeiture Of 753 Duplexes
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, on Monday, gave a ruling on the final forfeiture of an estate in Abuja measuring 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, situated on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, belonged to a top civil servant being investigated for corrupt and fraudulent activities by the commission.
Ruling on the Commission’s application for the final forfeiture of the property, Justice Onwuegbuzie held that the respondent had 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 court had on November 1, 2024, granted EFCC’s request for an interim forfeiture of the property.
“The forfeiture of the asset is an important modality of depriving the suspect of the proceeds of the crime,” the EFCC said in a statement.
It said that the recovery of the asset represents a milestone in the annals of operations of the EFCC and a proof of the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the anti-corruption war.
