Date: 2019-08-01

The Ilorin zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, secured the final forfeiture of "Asmau Plaza", valued at about N150million, traced to Rasaq Momonu, Controller, Finance and Account, Kwara State Government House, which is suspected to be proceeds of crime.

The order of final forfeiture of the plaza, located at University Road, Tanke Area, Ilorin, was given by Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of a Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, following an application brought before the court by the EFCC seeking for its forfeiture.

Moving the motion dated July 19, 2019, Nnaemeka Omewa, counsel for the EFCC, urged the court to grant the prayer for final forfeiture pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences.

"I urge the Court to grant the motion," he said.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Oyinloye granted the application and resolved all the issues raised in favour of the EFCC, noting that the EFCC fulfilled all the necessary requirements.

Oyinloye held that: "I have gone through the application brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, I also sighted the hearing notice issued to the respondent in the suit, Rasaq Momonu. This Honourable Court is persuaded that he had been served with the Court Processes.

"The application brought by the EFCC is meritorious and granted; this Honourable Court hereby orders the final forfeiture of the landed property known as Asmau Plaza, Tanke Road, Ilorin, Kwara State to the Federal Government of Nigeria."

It will be recalled that Momonu is facing money laundering charges before Justice Babangana Ashigar of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ilorin, and is expected back in court on September 25, 2019.

In an affidavit deposed to by Musa Gidado, an investigating officer with the EFCC, Momonu is alleged of being complicit in the diversion of state funds.

Gidado said: "Investigations revealed that Rasaq Momonu used his influence as Accountant with Kwara State Government to award and inflate contracts for the construction of two classrooms at Ogbondoroko and Obanisuwa Community in Kwara State.

"Investigations further revealed that the respondent who is a Civil Servant that earns less than N100,000 in a month cannot afford to build the house known as Asmau Plaza between 2010 -2012.

"That I know as a fact that the respondent was confronted with the above findings by the applicant which he did not dispute and has agreed to forfeit the property known as Asmau Plaza to the Federal Government of Nigeria."