Court orders forfeiture of Saraki's Ikoyi property
The Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Monday has ordered the temporary forfeiture of two properties located in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State and belonging to the immediate past senate president, Bukola Saraki, to the Federal Government.
Mohammed Liman, the judge, who ordered the temporary forfeiture on Monday, also gave 14 days for anyone with an interest in the properties to show cause.
According to a statement by the anti-corruption agency, EFCC, the properties are located at No. 17A McDonald Road, Ikoyi, Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos.
The EFCC said the forfeiture followed an ex parte application filed by its counsel, Nnaemeka Omewa, that the properties were acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities.
The Commission also alleged in a supporting affidavit that Mr Saraki, who served two terms as Kwara State Governor between 2003 and 2011, “withdrew over N12 billion cash from the account of the Kwara State Government and paid same into his accounts domiciled in Access and Zenith Banks through one of his personal assistants, Abdul Adama, at different intervals.”
The EFCC lawyer, Mr Omewa, said the court was empowered to order the temporary forfeiture of the landed asset to the Federal Government.
Delivering ruling on the application, Justice Liman ordered the interim forfeiture of the two properties.
He also instructed that the EFCC should publish the order in a national newspaper.
After ordering the temporary forfeiture of the properties, the judge gave 14 days for anyone with an interest in the properties to show cause why they should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
The EFCC had in May marked the houses traced to the former Senate president for an alleged case of conspiracy, abuse of office, misappropriation of public funds, theft, and money-laundering.
The agency’s probe of Mr Saraki, however, started when it wrote the Kwara State Government demanding a breakdown of Mr Saraki’s income, as well as his entitlements as governor of the state.
The houses had been the subject of Mr Saraki’s arraignment at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), which acquitted him in 2017.
Cloud Tag: What's trending
Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.
Kwara Pdp Muideen Olaniyi Alalade Amusa Bello Adesoye Isiaka Gold Ojo Fadumila Shonga Saliu Alamoyo Federal Allocation Kamaldeen Ajibade Lukman Adeloyin Amina Susa'a De Ahmed Amosa Lawal Olohungbebe Mohammed Alabi Lawal Ojuekun Sarumi Ahmed Idris Mohammed JAMB Saka Onimago Kehinde Baale Aiyedun Yahaya Abdulkareem Emmanuel Bello Ibrahim Labaika Christopher Odetunde Hassan Saliu Danladi Kwara Hotel Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia Bilikis Oladimeji Abiodun Abdulkareem Omoniyi Ayinla Ilorin Water Reticulation Saka Abimbola Isau Kale Bayero Yusuf Olaolu Ali Wole Oke Sango-UITH Road Yeketi Onikijipa Kwara Polytechnic Olugbense Abubakar Abdulraheem Medview Airlines George Innih Saadu Yusuf Village Alive Development Association Yusuf Aiyedun Boko Haram Post Utme Yusuf Amuda Gobir Oba Abdulraheem Shehu Alimi Foundation Mahfouz Adedimeji Fatai Adeniyi Garba Olofa Of Offa Mamatu Abdullahi Abdulbaqi Jimoh Tunji Olawuyi Alanamu Modibo Kawu Asa A.E. Afolabi Sa'adatu Modibbo-Kawu International Aviation College Suleiman Ajadi Aisha Ahman Pategi Transition Implementation Committee Yusuf A. Usman Isaac Aderemi Kolawole Oluwole Dupe Ilorin Amusement Park Ayodele Olaosebikan Vasolar-Kwara Company Ltd Yusuf Abdulwahab Kayode Zubair IQRA College