Court forfeits N250m of former NDDC’s MD to FG

Court forfeits N250m of former NDDC’s MD to FG

Etim Effiong

A Federal High Court in Lagos has forfeited N250m said to belong to a former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, whose name was not given to the Federal Government.

A statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday did not also reveal the identity of which MD the court had ruled against.

According to the release endorsed by the EFCC’s spokesman, Dele Oyewale, it said based on an application for final forfeiture of the fund by the Lagos zonal office of the EFCC, Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Lagos, recently granted the final forfeiture of the money.

It was learnt that EFCC had approached the court, seeking the forfeiture of the fund, arguing that it was traced, recovered, and reasonably suspected to be part of the proceeds of unlawful activities.

The commission was said to have discovered that a contractor with the NDDC received funds for a purported contract and transferred N250m, suspected as kickbacks, to a real estate company, for the acquisition of a property in favour of the former MD of the NDDC.

The EFCC, “Armed with enough fact and figure involved in the transaction, approached the court for the forfeiture of the money to the government.

“Justice Aikawa granted the order of final forfeiture accordingly.”