The
court granted the temporary forfeiture order, after listening to the Motion
Ex-parte filed and argued by counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, (EFCC,) Anselm. Ozioko.
The
vacant plot of land said to be at Plot 13, Block 11, Oniru Chieftaincy Family
Private Estate, Lekki, Lagos .
Other
joined as respondents in the suit are, Mr Donald Chidi Amangbo and Mez Group
Limited.
In
the Motion Ex-parte marked suit number FHC/L/CS/811/18, the commission is
seeking for an interim order of the court forfeiting to the Federal Government
of Nigeria the assets and properties named and described in the schedule to the
application which properties and assets are reasonably suspected to be proceeds
of unlawful activity.
The
EFCC also seeking an order authorising the commission to appoint a competent
person (s) or firm to manage the assets named and described in the scheduled to
the application.
In
the 27 paragraphs affidavit deposed to by one Abdulrasheed Bawa an detective of
the EFCC and filed before the court, it was averred that sometime in 2016 a
search warrant was executed at the office and premises of one Mr. Donald Chidi
Amamgbo, SAN, a known acquantance of the former Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison Madueke.
The
commIssion said that during the search, some of the documents recovered from
Amamgbo’s office was an undated report titled ” Highly Confidential Attorney
Work Product- August Report”.
EFCC
said the report contained a list of 18 companies and several properties located
in United Kingdom, Nigeria and United States of America.
It
was also averred that in the course of his interview, Amamgbo told the
anti-graft agency that he registered the 18 companies to assist Mrs Deziani
Alison Madueke in holding titles of her properties and that all belongs to her.
The
anti-graft agency added that among the properties on the list is ; A vacant
plot of land at Plot 13 Block 11, Oniru Chieftaincy Family Private Estate,
Lekki, Lagos under the name of Mez Group LCC as the holiding entity.
After
listening to argument by counsel to EFCC, Justice Kuewumi granted the
application for interim forfeiture of the property to the Federal Government of
Nigeria.
Justice
Kweuwumi further ruled that the order must be published in a national newspaper
for anybody who have interest in the property sought to be forfeited to come
forward and show cause why the property should not be permanently forfeited to
the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Meanwhile,
July 24 has been fixed for the return date.
No comments:
Post a Comment