Follow Us on Google
From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal has affirmed the final forfeiture of over N293.97 million, investment assets and several landed properties linked to retired Major General Emmanuel Jebe Atewe to the Federal Government.
In a unanimous judgment delivered yesterday, Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo dismissed Atewe’s appeal and upheld the earlier decision of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s application for the final forfeiture of the assets.
The forfeited assets include N293.97 million, 30,000 MTN-linked units in Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, several properties in Abuja, including plots at the Outer Northern Expressway, Jahi, Sabon Lugbe, Kuje, Gaube Farmland Extension II Layout and Sector Centre B Layout, Kuje, as well as a commercial property in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
According to the EFCC Spokesman Dele Oyewale, investigations traced the assets to proceeds of alleged unlawful activities involving funds released for the operations of the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield.
The Commission alleged that about N8.537 billion released to the Joint Task Force was diverted through a network of companies and proxies.
Oyewale said the funds were paid to companies for contracts and services that were never executed, with part of the money allegedly used to acquire assets linked to Atewe through associated firms.
The anti-graft agency further disclosed that N297 million traced to Cisco Nobots Limited was used in a property transaction in Port Harcourt, from which it recovered N290 million.
Other News
The Federal High Court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order before making it final after ruling that Atewe failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the legitimate source of the assets.
Atewe appealed the decision, contending that the forfeiture proceedings were incompetent because he was entitled to protection under Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act, that the proceedings should not have commenced while criminal charges against him were pending, and that the trial court lacked jurisdiction.
However, the Court of Appeal resolved all the issues in favour of the EFCC.
The appellate court held that the protections provided under Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act apply only to serving military personnel and not retired officers, noting that Atewe admitted in court filings that he had retired before the forfeiture proceedings were initiated.
The court also held that Atewe failed to establish the legitimate source of the assets, observing that his explanations, which referred mainly to honoraria, did not sufficiently account for their acquisition.
It further rejected his argument that the civil forfeiture proceedings constituted an abuse of court process because his money laundering trial was still pending, ruling that civil forfeiture and criminal proceedings can lawfully run concurrently.
The Court of Appeal consequently dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and affirmed the final forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government.
