A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the temporary forfeiture of N3.5bilion and 68,000 dollars belonging to the top managers of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) including its managing director Mr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam.
Justice Oluremi Oguntoyibo made the interim forfeiture order based on an ex-parte originating summons filed by the EFCC.
Apart from Abdulsalam, the former managers of NAMA affected by the order are Olumuyiwa Adegorite, a former General Manager of Procurement of NAMA, and Segun Agbolade, a former General Manager, Finance.
Others are a former acting General Manager, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Bolaniran Akinribido, Adegorite’s wife, Joy and Abiodun Sessebor.
The rest are Randville Investment Ltd, Multeng Travels and Tours, Delosa Ltd, Airsea Delivery Ltd and Sea Schedule Systems Ltd as well as their affiliate companies.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which is prosecuting them, asked that the properties, buildings, parcels of land and premises belonging to them be temporarily vested in the EFCC.
In a supporting affidavit, an EFCC investigating officer, Mr Nurudeen Bello, said that the commission received a petition on Jan. 13, 2016 alleging that some management staff of NAMA stole government funds running into billions of naira.
He averred that the sums were derived through fictitious procurement contracts, fake container clearing contracts and fraudulent cash advances to some members of staff.
Bello said that the funds in the bank accounts were some of the laundered proceeds of the alleged crime for which they were being prosecuted.
The deponent averred that while the prosecutions were on-going, the commission got wind of plans by the respondents to transfer funds out of their various accounts.
He said that the properties, buildings, parcels of land and premises belonging to the respondents were also some of the laundered proceeds of the crimes for which they were being prosecuted.
He also averred that an order of court, attaching the aforementioned funds therein to the commission, was imperative to prevent further dissipation of the respondents’ funds and assets.
He emphasised that it was in the interest of justice to grant the commission’s application.
Justice Oguntoyibo granted the application as prayed after it was moved by the EFCC counsel.
Seized were the N30.1million in Adegorite’s account, N8.7million and N120million in Randville Investment’s account and 42,000 dollars in Adegorite’s account.
Others were N2.8million in Delosas account, N1.2billion in the account of Avesta Ventures Electronics Nigeria Ltd, N985.6million, N281million, N681million and N47million in accounts of Merry Aviation Communication Electrical Ltd, among others.
A residential building at 5 Sobo Arobiodu Street, GRA, Ikeja, a petrol station on Egbeda-Idimu Road, by Faith Bus Stop, a filling station in Mushin, Idi-Oro, and a petrol station in Alakuko were among the assets temporarily forfeited.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said that the ownership of the listed properties was yet to be determined.
Abdulsalam and others are also on trial for N2.8billion fraud before Justice Babs Kuewumi of the same court.
They pleaded not guilty. (NAN)