The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to lift its control or restrictions on N220 million and properties linked to former Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku, following its non-conviction final forfeiture case.
Justice Umar Mohammed delivered the ruling/judgment in a “non-conviction” originating motion marked FHC/ABJ/177/2024, filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the ex-AGF.
The development comes weeks after the EFCC separately prosecuted Nwabuoku on a nine-count amended criminal charge before Justice James Omotosho, bordering on money laundering to the tune of N868,465,000, leading to his conviction and sentencing.
What the court said
Delivering his verdict, Justice Umar held that the burden was on the EFCC to prove to the court that it was entitled to the interim and final forfeiture of the assets in line with the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
Umar held that the depositions by both the EFCC legal team and Nwabuoku before him, confirmed the existence of a pending criminal case before Justice James Omotosho.
- He asked: “Now the question is, can this Court go ahead and finally forfeit to the Federal Republic of Nigeria properties that are the subject of a criminal trial, the proceedings of which have reached an advanced stage?”
The judge concluded that, in the circumstances of the case, justice would not be served if properties subject to a criminal trial were finally forfeited to the Federal Government at that stage.
He advised that the EFCC could return with a similar application after the conclusion of the criminal trial, since the properties sought to be forfeited formed part of the said charge.
- “At this stage, this Court agrees with the submission of Nwabuoku that this suit amounts to an abuse of court process, and I so hold,” the judge ruled.
Accordingly, the judge held that the ex-AGF’s preliminary objection had established sufficient grounds to warrant the grant of his application.
The judge subsequently ordered as follows:
- “The EFCC’s application for final forfeiture of the properties of Nwabuoku listed in Schedules 1 and 2 of the Applicant/Respondent’s application is an abuse of court process.
- “An order is granted vacating and/or discharging the interim order of forfeiture of the Respondent/Applicant’s properties set out in Schedules 1 and 2 of the order of interim forfeiture made by this Honourable Court on March 4, 2024.”
The judge also ordered the EFCC to relinquish, lift, or remove forthwith any control, embargo, limitation, or restrictions imposed on Nwabuoku’s properties listed in Schedules 1 and 2 of the order, and to refrain from doing anything inconsistent with the ownership or proprietary rights of the ex-AGF over the properties.
More insights
This was disclosed in the EFCC’s ex parte “non-conviction” originating motion marked FHC/ABJ/177/2024 before Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to the motion filed by EFCC lawyer E. Iheanacho, SAN, the Commission sought an interim order against several sums in bank accounts linked to the ex-AGF, including:
- Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited (N12,526,206.55)
- Turge Global Investment Limited (N4,102,570.25)
- Laptev Bridge Limited (N682,904.36)
- Arafura Transnational Afro Ltd (N51,279,067.53)
- EFCC Recovery Account (N220,000,000 refunded by Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku)
Iheanacho had urged the court to approve an interim forfeiture of the funds and property described in Schedules 1 and 2, which, according to him, were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The EFCC further stated that a total sum of N355 million was lodged by different individuals, including Mr. Joseph Gideon, into M Davi Company Enterprises between November 4, 2019, and September 5, 2020, for the benefit of the respondent.
The Commission also alleged that the respondent admitted ownership of the funds in his extrajudicial statement to the EFCC.
- “The Respondent utilized the sum of N64,000,000 only to purchase a five-bedroom standalone duplex at Number 20, City Gate Estate, Kukwaba, Abuja,” the Commission added.
The EFCC further alleged that the respondent invested N160 million out of the N355 million in securities and investments.
- “The Respondent refunded the sum of N220,000,000 into the Applicant’s Recovery Account 0020089341028 on February 9, 2022, and also voluntarily relinquished the property known as Number 20, City Gate Estate, Kukwaba, Abuja, to the Applicant alongside the house keys,” the Commission had stated.
Those assets were forfeited in the interim by the court.
But Nwabuoku’s legal team filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the same assets were already captured in a criminal charge before Justice James Omotosho, making the suit an abuse of court process.
What you should know
Nairametrics reports that former President Muhammadu Buhari, on May 22, 2022, approved the appointment of Mr. Anamekwe Chukwunyere Nwabuoku as Acting Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) to oversee the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF).
The appointment came pending the outcome of the EFCC investigation involving the suspended AGF, Ahmed Idris.
Nwabuoku was later arraigned by the EFCC on fraud charges.
