A Federal High Court in Lagos has rejected an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking permanent forfeiture of some assets belonging to Bukola Saraki to the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate President disclosed this in a statement on Thursday evening.
“Earlier this afternoon, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos rejected an application brought before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in which the agency sought the permanent forfeiture of some of my properties to the Federal Government,” Saraki said.
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He revealed that the court said EFCC had failed to provide evidence to support its claims that his properties were paid for with funds sourced from the Kwara State Government House.
“The Court further held that the evidence before it showed the purchase of properties was legal and as such cannot be said to be done with the proceeds of crime.
“In 2018, the Supreme Court held that there was no evidence to support the claims of corruption leveled against me by the agency while giving its judgment in appeals filed before it challenging the judgments of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the Court of Appeal,” the former Kwara State governor added.
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Saraki added that he believed the Judiciary to be an institution that upheld the rights and liberties of citizens in a democracy and praised the court for “upholding the laws of our land.”
What you should know
- The Attorney general of the Federation, Abubakar Malami inaugurated the inter-Ministerial Committee on the Disposal of Federal Government of Nigeria’s Forfeited Assets and announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the selling off of forfeited assets in 6 months.