On Wednesday, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the temporary forfeiture of 14 properties linked to Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello in Lagos, Abuja, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the federal government of Nigeria.
Justice Oweibo also ordered the seizure of N400 million recovered from one Aminu Falala and allegedly linked to the State.
The orders were granted after the Judge heard an ex-parte application from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), claimed in the application that the properties, including one in the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, were reasonably suspected of being derived from unlawful activities.
Oyedepo also informed the Court that the N400 million was reasonably suspected of being derived from illegal activity and that it was intended to be used to purchase Plot No. 1224 Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
However, the Judge ordered the anti-graft agency to publish the order within 14 days so that any interested party could show cause why the forfeiture order should not be made permanent.
