The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has handed over several properties forfeited by Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, a company allegedly owned by former Enugu State governor Chimaroke Nnamani, to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in Enugu State.
The affected properties, tied to alleged proceeds of crime, include duplexes, according to a statement by the EFCC on Saturday.
“The properties are: one bungalow, one wire house, and three duplexes, all located at No. 3/4 Pocket Estate, Independence Layout, Enugu; 12 rooms of a one-storey semi-detached building located at No. 35B Abakaliki Road, Enugu; one duplex of six rooms located at No. 3A Mount Street, Park Avenue, Enugu; and one duplex of six rooms located at No. 3C Mount Street, Park Avenue, Enugu State”, the statement partly reads.
EFCC Vows to Go After Looted Funds, Properties
Speaking during the handover ceremony, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, who was represented by the Acting Zonal Director, Enugu Zonal Directorate, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE I Aisha Abubakar, stressed that the Commission remains committed to ridding the country of economic and financial crimes by being diligent in its investigations and prosecutions.
- The official added that the Commission is determined to trace and recover looted funds and properties procured with “proceeds of crime.”
“You will always have our cooperation. I know we have always worked together, and we have a Department of Proceeds of Crime Management that is thriving. By working together, we got this done, and the moment we were informed that you were ready to take over, we quickly made the properties available and had the final check on them this morning. Based on that, we have instructions from the Executive Chairman to hand over these properties to you,” he said.
- Responding, Resolution Officer with AMCON, John Abuh, appreciated the Commission’s efforts and role in recovering the properties and returning them to AMCON.
Backstory
Recall that the EFCC had, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, handed over 14 properties initially forfeited to the Federal Government and now ceded to the government and people of Enugu State.
- Olukoyede disclosed that the road to the forfeiture, which dated back to 2007, involved properties recovered from former Enugu State governor Chimaroke Nnamani.
- The initial properties comprised houses, transmission equipment for radio and television stations, and a building for medical operations, among others.
- Justice Mohammed Yinusa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, had on July 8, 2015, convicted four companies associated with Nnamani and ordered that their properties be forfeited to the Federal Government.
The four companies are Rainbownet Nigeria Limited, Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile Nigeria Limited, and Renaissance University Teaching Hospital.
The companies, through their handlers, had pleaded guilty to a 10-count amended charge brought against them by the EFCC on May 19, 2015.
Nnamani was first arraigned before Justice Tijani Abubakar in 2007 over alleged N5 billion money laundering, according to the EFCC statement.
According to the charge, Nnamani was accused of conspiring with other accused persons to launder funds from the state treasury, especially monies meant for the local government areas of Enugu State.
