The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has addressed public speculation surrounding the ownership of a massive estate recently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The property, comprising 753 duplexes and apartments, is located in Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja.
Responding to activist Omoyele Sowore’s claims of a “cover-up,” the EFCC clarified that the forfeiture proceedings adhered strictly to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act.
“The EFCC noted that investigations revealed the alleged owners disassociated themselves from the estate, prompting the court to issue a final forfeiture order.
“The allegation of a cover-up of the identity of the promoters of the Estate stands logic on the head in the sense that the proceedings for the forfeiture of the Estate were in line with Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act which is a civil proceeding that allows for action-in-rem rather than action-in-personam.
“The latter allows legal actions against a property and not an individual, especially in a situation of an unclaimed property. This Act allows you to take up a forfeiture proceeding against a chattel that is not a juristic person. This is exactly what the Commission did in respect of the Estate.
“The proceedings that yielded the final forfeiture of the Estate were products of actionable intelligence available to the Commission. The company flagged by our investigations denied ownership of the Estate following publications made in leading national newspapers.
“On the basis of this, the Commission approached the court for an order of final forfeiture which Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court granted on Monday, December 2, 2024,” the commission stated.
The EFCC further emphasized that substantive criminal investigations are ongoing and dismissed accusations of shielding individuals behind the estate.