On Monday, December 2, 2024, Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie rendered a decision about the final forfeiture of a 150,500 square meter estate in Abuja that contained 753 duplexes and other residential units. Since its founding in 2003, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, has recovered more assets than any other. The estate is located in the Lokogoma District of Abuja on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09.
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In accordance with the EFCC’s mandate and policy directive to ensure that corrupt and dishonest people do not profit from their illegal acts, a former top government official forfeited the property to the federal government. In this case, the Commission based its argument on Section 44 (2) B of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 199 Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud And Other Fraud Related Offences Act No 14, 2006.
According to Justice Onwuegbuzie’s decision in the Commission’s application for the property’s final forfeiture, “which has been reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities, the property is hereby finally forfeited to the federal government.” The respondent had not provided a reason for why he should not lose the property. On November 1, 2024, an interim forfeiture order was obtained before the same judge, paving the way for the final forfeiture of the property. The EFCC is looking into the government official who constructed the estate improperly. One significant method of denying the suspect access to the money obtained from the crime is the forfeiture of the asset.
The EFCC “has power to cause investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organisation has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes and cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the Commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.”
This is the basis for the forfeiture, as stated in Part 2, Section 7 of the EFCC Establishment Act. Mr. Ola Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of the Commission, has stated time and time again that asset recovery is essential to combating economic and financial crimes, corruption, and fraud. It also serves as a significant deterrent to those who commit these crimes.
Addressing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-corruption recently, he remarked, “If you understand the intricacies involved in financial crimes investigation and prosecution you will discover that to recover one billion naira is war. Because asset recovery is essential to the battle against corruption, I instructed my colleagues that as soon as we begin an inquiry, we must also begin asset tracing. Asset tracing and recovery is one of the most powerful tools an anti-corruption agency can employ to fight corruption effectively.
If you give the corrupt or those you are looking into access to the money they made from their crime, they will use it against you. Depriving them of the money they earned from their crime is therefore one method of weakening them. Thus, our approach has also evolved at the same time. We start asset tracing as soon as we start an investigation. That was the reason we were able to recuperate. The Commission’s Establishment Act gives asset recovery a lot of weight.
Subject to the provisions of Section 24 of the Act, “the Commission shall apply to the court for an interim forfeiture whenever the assets and properties of any person arrested under the Act are attached or where a person is arrested for an offence under the Act, the Commission shall immediately trace and attach all of the assets and properties of the person acquired as a result of such economic and financial crime and shall thereafter cause to be obtained an interim attachment order from the Court.”
The Commission will also cause an application to be made to the court for an interim order forfeiting the property to the Federal Government in cases where the assets or properties of any person arrested for an offence under the Act have been seized, or where the Commission has seized any assets or properties under the Act.
If the court is satisfied that there is prima facie evidence that the property in question is subject to forfeiture, the Commission will typically escalate the case to earn a final forfeiture. In this regard, the process was appropriately followed.
The asset’s recovery marks a turning point in the EFCC’s history and is unquestionably evidence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s dedication to the fight against corruption.
