A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the interim forfeiture, to the Federal Government, of the sum of ₦241milion allegedly diverted from the office of the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which instigated the forfeiture order told Justice Nicholas Oweibo on Friday that it received a damning intelligence report from some concerned citizens in respect to abuse of office, diversion of funds, and monumental fraud perpetrated by some staff of the accounts department in the office of the SSA to the President. The EFCC said its investigation revealed that one Abdusalam Bawa, the key suspect, is a signatory to two corporate accounts which housed monies diverted from the coffers of the agency.
It also linked Kouchdim Unity Nigeria Ltd and Lankass Global Ventures to the diversion. Counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo who approached the court via an exparte application told the judge that the sum of ₦241m was warehoused in two banks in the sums of ₦65million, ₦61million, ₦50million and ₦65million.
Justice Oweibo directed the anti-graft agency to publish the interim forfeiture in any national newspaper for anyone who is interested in the forfeited funds to appear before the court within 14 days to show cause why a final forfeiture order should not be made in favour of the Federal Government. He adjourned the final forfeiture proceedings till September 6, 2021. Oyedepo’s application was backed by a four-page affidavit of urgency deposed to by an EFCC operative, Ebunoluwa Amusan.
Amusan averred that he was assigned to investigate the “damning intelligence report received by the EFCC by some concerned citizens in respect of abuse of office, diversion of funds, and monumental fraud perpetrated by some officers of the Sustainable Development Goals, office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President.”
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