Court Orders Forfeiture Of Yakubu’s $9.8m To FG

A Federal High Court in Kano has ordered the forfeiture of the sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 recovered from a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Andrew Yakubu, to the Federal Government.

The order was sequel to an ex parte application by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking an interim forfeiture of the recovered money to the Federal Government.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed that the ex parte application was moved by the counsel for the applicant, Salihu Sani.

In her ruling, Justice Zainab Abubakar held that “the sum of $9,772,000 (Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Two Thousand United States Dollars) and £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pound Sterling), which are now in the custody of the applicant (EFCC), are in the interim forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria”.

The EFCC said that some its operatives on February 3, 2017, stormed a building belonging to the former NNPC boss and recovered a staggering sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 stashed in a huge fire proof safe.

The commission added that Mr Yakubu reported to its Kano Zonal Office on February 8, 2017 where he admitted being the owner of both the house and the money recovered.

The EFCC said “Yakubu is still in custody assisting the investigation”.