(PHOTOS) EFCC secures final forfeiture of Abuja estate — ‘largest ever’ single asset recovery

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the final forfeiture of an estate located in the federal capital territory (FCT).

Jude Onwuegbuzie, a judge of the FCT high court, delivered his verdict in favour of the EFCC on Monday.

In a statement, Dele Oyewale, spokesperson of the anti-graft agency, said the estate, which measures 150,500 square metres and contains 753 units of duplexes and other apartments, is the largest single asset the EFCC has recovered since it was set up in 2003.

However, the individual who forfeited the property was not mentioned, but Oyewale said it belonged to a “former top brass of the government”.

“The road to the final forfeiture of the property was paved by an interim forfeiture order, secured before the same Judge on November 1, 2024,” he said.

“The government official which fraudulently built the estate is being investigated by the EFCC. The forfeiture of the asset is an important modality of depriving the suspect of the proceeds of the crime.

“In this instance, the Commission relied on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud And Other Fraud Related Offences Act No 14, 2006 and Section 44 (2) B of the Constitution of the 199 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to push its case.

“The Establishment Act of the Commission places huge emphasis on asset recovery.”

The EFCC spokesperson said the judge held that the respondent did not show cause as to why he should not lose the property.

According to Oyewale, chairman of the anti-corruption agency, Ola Olukoyede, while addressing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-corruption recently, said: “If you understand the intricacies involved in financial crimes investigation and prosecution you will discover that to recover one billion naira is war. So, I told my people that the moment we start investigation we must also start asset tracing because asset recovery is pivotal in the anti-corruption fight; and one of the potent instruments that you can deploy as an anti-corruption agency for an effective fight is asset tracing and recovery.

“If you allow the corrupt or those that you are investigating to have access to the proceeds of their crime, they will fight you with it. So one of the ways to weaken them is to deprive them of the proceeds of their crime. So, our modus operandi has changed simultaneously. The moment we begin investigation, we begin asset tracing. That was what helped us to make our recoveries.”

See photos of the estate below: