The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of $16,500 and another ₦127m fraudulently diverted from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
The monies are to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Justice Kehinde Ogundare ordered the permanent forfeiture of the monies, following an application which was filed and moved by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Through its counsel, Sulaiman Sulaiman, the EFCC had told the court that the monies were proceeds of unlawful activities.
On May 23, 2024, the judge ordered the interim forfeiture of the monies, while granting an exparte application brought before the court under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14. 2006; and Section 44 (2)(B) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended).
After ordering the temporary forfeiture, the court had directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper, to show cause, why the monies should not be forfeited permanently.
However, at the resumed hearing of the final forfeiture of the money today, the EFCC lawyer, Sulaiman Sulaiman, informed the court that “pursuant to your lordship’s order made on May 23, 2024, that we should publish the order, the publication of the order was made on June 6, 2024, in Punch newspapers.”
