A Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has restored the preservation order on 14 properties and N400 million linked to the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
By Chimezie Godfrey
A Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has restored the preservation order on 14 properties and N400 million linked to the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
The three-man panel, led by Justice Nimpar Yargata, held that the lower court erred when it struck out the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking the final forfeiture of the said assets.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos had, on February 22, 2023, granted the EFCC’s request to preserve the assets, which included a hotel apartment in Dubai, suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities. The order was made under Sections 9 and 10 of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022.
However, the trial court struck out the suit on April 26, 2023, citing the constitutional immunity Bello enjoyed as a sitting governor under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.
Dissatisfied, the EFCC, through its counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), alongside Bilkisu Buhari Bala, S.I. Suleiman, and Chinenye Okezie, approached the appellate court, arguing that the immunity clause does not cover assets suspected to be proceeds of crime.
The commission cited previous rulings in EFCC v. Fayose (2018) and Fawehinmi v. IGP (2002) to support its position, insisting that the trial court failed to follow judicial precedents.
In its ruling, the Appeal Court agreed with the EFCC, stating that the trial judge misapplied the immunity clause and failed to consider the suspicious nature of the assets. The court ruled that the lower court’s decision occasioned a miscarriage of justice and ordered the restoration of the preservation order.
The panel further directed that the proceedings for the final forfeiture of the properties should continue accordingly.