COURTROOM NEWS 22/12/2022
Court Orders Forfeiture of $899,900, 15 Properties Recovered From Ex-AGF
A Federal Capital Territory High Court has ordered the interim forfeiture of $899,900 and N304, 490,160.95 recovered from a former Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court also forfeited 15 properties recovered from Idris in Kano and Abuja.
The properties linked to Idris which were listed in the Schedule for forfeiture include Kano City Mall/Al Ikhlas Shopping Mall at Mandwawarti, Kano; one storey Shopping Complex at Ladanai, Kano; Corner Shops at Ladanai, Kano; a duplex at Karsana, Abuja; Royal Duplex at Deneji Quarters, Kano and a Duplex at Plot 271, New Jersey Street, Efab Blue Fountain Estate, Abuja.
Idris and others are being prosecuted by the EFCC on 14 counts of stealing and money laundering to the tune of N109billion.
Justice M.A Hassan gave the Order on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 while ruling on a motion exparte no. M/1149/2022, filed by the EFCC. This was according to a statement by the anti-graft spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren.
In the motion, the EFCC had prayed the Court for an Order of interim attachment/ forfeiture of the properties in the Schedule to the application, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case in Charge No. FCT, HC/CR/299/2022, Federal Republic of Nigeria V. Ahmed Idris and Others.
The Commission had requested the court to grant among others, an Order approving the interim “management of the assets and properties in the Schedule to this application to the applicant”, an order “to open an interest yielding account where monies realised from the management of the assets and properties of the persons stated in the Schedule to this application shall be paid”, and an order “freezing the Bank Accounts of the persons referred to as account holders/ or the bank accounts set out in the Schedule to this application”, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case.
Justice Hassan granted the motion as prayed but further ordered that the recovery account sought to be opened by the applicant, ”shall be in the name of the Commission as Recovery Account and the details of the Account shall be reported back to the Court within one week of opening”.
Nine properties linked to the second respondent, Mohammed Kudu Usman, located in Abuja, Niger and Nasarawa States, were also forfeited in the interim.
They include plots of land with shops in Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State, a 37 hectares of farmland with livestock located along Minna-Bida Road in Niger State, Bungalow flats at Gwarimpa, Abuja, Bungalow Buildings at Masaka, Nasarawa State, plots of land at Dutse Alhaji Abuja and 13 plots of land at Integrated City, Minna, Niger State.
