Court grants EFCC interim forfeiture of N397m from alleged pension fraud

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu has ordered the interim forfeiture of N377 million to the government of the federation, according to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

The agency gave a breakdown of the various amounts to include N357,206,311.15, $91,955.38 (N33, 411, 987.32) and £15,050 (N7, 040 , 841.5). It added that the monies were stashed in two commercial banks and believed to be proceeds of pension fraud.

The statement said the judge had, on October 26, issued the order of interim forfeiture for the monies domiciled in two banks, following an ex-parte summons by the EFCC on October 3, 2018, and filed on October 5, 2018.

“The EFCC had in the course of investigating a pension fraud case, traced to the monies to the accounts of Tahir Yusuf and Bitmas Enterprises,” the statement said.

The judge directed that the commission publish the notice of the order in any national daily newspaper and on the EFCC’s website.

“Any such persons or bodies, who may be affected by this order is at liberty within 14 days of the said publication to apply for a Motion on Notice to the court on such justifiable grounds, to show cause why a final order of forfeiture should not be made.”

The court adjourned the case till November 28, 2018 for “report/hearing of order show cause.”