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,,,,, Identity of Interested party unknown.
By Correspondent in Abuja.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the final forfeiture of seven million dollars recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Federal Government.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order after EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, moved an application for the final forfeiture of the money.
Oyedepo reminded the court that on August 27, it had granted the commission’s request for interim freezing of the funds.
He explained that the EFCC complied with the directive to publish the interim order, calling for any interested parties to show cause why the final order should not be made. An affidavit of compliance was subsequently filed on September 3.
“My lord, since August 27 when your lordship granted the interim order, no opposition has been filed. Hence, we filed a motion for final forfeiture,” he told the court.
Our Correspondent reports that at the previous hearing on Friday, a lawyer, Mr. Gbenga Akande, had announced appearance for an interested party.
Despite pressure from the EFCC and the court, Akande declined to reveal the identity of his client but promised to file an affidavit to show cause and other documents.
Justice Nwite ordered Oyedepo to serve Akande with copies of the documents and adjourned the matter until September 15 for report.
However, when the case resumed on Monday, Akande was absent. Instead, another lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, appeared in court for an interested party.
Oyedepo moved the application for final forfeiture, stressing that no party had shown genuine interest in the matter. “The party that appeared at the last adjourned date was represented by Gbenga Femi Akande, Esq.,” he noted.
When asked for his submission, Ozurumba replied: “On our part, we are not opposing the application.”
Justice Nwite, after reviewing the submissions and affidavit evidence, held that the application was meritorious. “I am of the view that the application is meritorious. Consequently, the application is granted,” he ruled, ordering the final forfeiture of the $7 million to the Federal Government.
Our Correspondent reports that in an affidavit supporting the motion ex-parte (FHC/ABJ/CS/1763/2025), deposed to by EFCC investigator Emmanuel Okeibunor, the commission disclosed it had received credible intelligence that the sum was conveyed in suspicious circumstances to Providus Bank Limited in Lagos.
Investigations revealed that the money was not credited to any known customer’s account but kept in the bank’s vault. Bank staff alleged it was brought in on behalf of the Managing Director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited.
However, the company’s Managing Director denied taking money to the bank, insisting instead that she had taken a $7 million loan from Providus Bank, which she had yet to repay.
The EFCC investigator also noted that Providus Bank failed to file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in respect of the transaction.
The commission concluded that the funds were suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity, not linked to any legitimate income of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, the couriers, or the bank officials.
The money was recovered in cash and deposited at the Central Bank of Nigeria for safekeeping. “The funds sought to be forfeited are also reasonably suspected to have been abandoned, as nobody has come forward to claim them,” the EFCC stated.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
