BY CHUKWUMA NNAM
There’s Interim forfeiture to the Federal Government of the sum of N241milion allegedly diverted from the office of the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The verdict was made yesterday by Justice Nicholas Oweibo, of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.
Oyedepo told the judge that the N241million was warehoused in two banks in the sums of N65million, N61million, N50million and N65million.
The EFCC said its intelligence showed that the Abuja property was purchased with funds furtively diverted from SDG, office of the SSA to the President, where Mr Abdulsalam Bawa is a Principal Accountant.
The Commission fingered Bawa, as the key suspect, adding that the diversion was perpetrated in grand conspiracy with some SDG staff.
It also linked three firms, Kouchdim Unity Nigeria Ltd and Lankass Global Ventures, to the diversion.
Justice Oweibo adjourned the suit marked FHC/L/CS/90/2021 till September 6, 2021, for final forfeiture proceedings.
Oyedepo’s application was supported by a four-page affidavit of urgency deposed to by an EFCC operative, Ebunoluwa Amusan.
Amusan averred that he was assigned to investigate the “damning intelligence report received by the EFCC by some concerned citizens in respect of abuse of office, diversion of funds and monumental fraud perpetrated by some officers of the Sustainable Development Goals, office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President.”
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The intelligence indicated that monies were diverted to some companies owned by some suspects.
“Investigation carried out so far revealed that Bawa is not a shareholder nor is he listed as a shareholder in any of these companies; Kouchdim Unity Nigeria Ltd and Lankass Global Ventures, but he is a signatory to the companies’ accounts.
“Investigation revealed Remittal inflows traced from the Central Bank of Nigeria, meant for other organisations and for projects were traced to the suspect’s account personal and corporate accounts viz: Lankass Global Ventures and Kouchdim Unity Nigeria Ltd.
“The above-mentioned companies alongside their alter ego were fraudulently used to divert funds from government coffer and used to purchase the property sought to be attached.”
The deponent further averred that “the Principal Accountant, in cohort with other staff of the SDG laundered and retained various sums of money through companies and individuals who made payments for the said property sought to be temporarily attached.
“So far, we have traced and discovered a landed property acquired with proceeds of the alleged diversion of public funds and criminal breach of trust by Mr. Abdulsalam Bawa.”
