Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday ordered the final forfeiture of properties, vehicles, and substantial cash sums linked to an alleged N2 billion Union Bank fraud scheme.
The ruling followed a motion filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), presented in court by the Commission’s counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa.
The forfeited assets include a three-bedroom bungalow at No. 8 Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarinpa, Abuja; one Mercedes Benz C300; a gray BMW 3 Series SUV; a black 2012 Range Rover; three Toyota Hilux trucks (models 2008, 2010, and 2014); a black 2016 BMW SURXI; and two additional Range Rover vehicles. Also forfeited are ₦326.4 million and $480,000 in cash.
The judge had previously issued an interim forfeiture order and directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested parties to contest the action. No objection was filed, prompting the EFCC to proceed with the final forfeiture request.
In a supporting affidavit presented by EFCC investigator Sulaiman Aminu Muhammad, the Commission said it received a petition from a commercial bank reporting suspicious transactions on customers’ accounts totaling over ₦1.4 billion. A subsequent addendum to the petition raised the figure to ₦2.007 billion, reportedly withdrawn without customer authorization.
According to the EFCC, internal investigations by the bank’s audit unit revealed unusual patterns in account debits. The probe identified Atus Homes Limited as a recipient of ₦681.2 million from 126 customer accounts in multiple tranches. Another company, Fav Oil & Gas Limited, was said to have received ₦1.388 billion from 429 customer accounts.
Further investigation traced ₦887.4 million of the diverted funds to accounts in other financial institutions.
Kofarnaisa argued that the funds and assets linked to the case were proceeds of unlawful activities and were not associated with any legitimate business operations. She also informed the court that the alleged mastermind behind the fraud has been arraigned and is currently undergoing trial.
Justice Osiagor ruled that the EFCC had provided sufficient evidence to justify the forfeiture and ordered that the listed assets and funds be permanently transferred to the Federal Government.