Court Orders EFCC to Lift Restrictions on Ex-AGF Nwabuoku’s N220m, Properties

Court Rules EFCC Cannot Forfeit Assets While Criminal Trial Is Ongoing

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately lift all restrictions on N220 million and several properties linked to former Acting Accountant-General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku.

Justice Umar Mohammed delivered the ruling on Friday in a non-conviction forfeiture suit marked FHC/ABJ/177/2024. The judge held that the EFCC could not proceed with a final forfeiture of the assets while a related criminal trial involving the same properties was already before another court.

EFCC Suit Declared Abuse of Process

The judge said the anti-graft agency failed to establish sufficient grounds for final forfeiture under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act. Both parties confirmed there was an ongoing criminal case before Justice James Omotosho involving the same properties and funds.

“Proceeding with a final forfeiture while the criminal matter remains unresolved would not serve the interest of justice,” the court held. Justice Umar questioned whether the court could legally forfeit assets tied to an active criminal proceeding that had reached an advanced stage.

The court vacated the interim forfeiture order earlier granted against the listed assets and restrained the EFCC from taking any action that could interfere with Nwabuoku’s ownership rights pending the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.

Background: N1.9bn Already Forfeited

The ruling is a partial setback for the EFCC, which secured a final forfeiture order on May 13-14 from Justice Omotosho covering N1.9 billion in assets and investments linked to Nwabuoku. The former acting AGF had been convicted on fraud charges related to the misappropriation of public funds.

According to earlier EFCC court filings, Nwabuoku had refunded N220 million and voluntarily relinquished a property at Number 20, City Gate Estate, Kukwaba, Abuja, during investigations. The agency alleged that about N355 million was deposited by various individuals into accounts connected to the former AGF between 2019 and 2020.

The accounts in question were linked to several companies including Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited, and Arafura Transnational Afro Ltd.

The EFCC has not yet indicated whether it will appeal Friday’s ruling.

Sources: Arbiterz, Nairametrics, Channels TV