The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of numerous properties in Abuja and Bayelsa States, along with 30,000 units of MTN shares, allegedly connected to retired Major General Emmanuel Atewe, a former Commander of the military Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, in the Niger Delta. The properties, which include vast hectares of land in nine prime locations in both states, will now be claimed by the Federal Government.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke issued the order on Friday, May 5, in response to an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through its counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), in Suit NO: FHC/L/CS/496/2020. The judge also instructed the Applicant to sell the properties and transfer the proceeds of the sales to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
According to the EFCC’s application, the assets, which were discovered and recovered by the commission, are reasonably suspected to have been obtained with proceeds from unlawful activities.
The land and shares had previously been subject to an interim forfeiture order granted by Justice Mohammed Liman. However, following his transfer, the case file was reassigned to Justice Aneke, who made the temporary order permanent.
The properties in question include plots of land in various locations in Abuja and Bayelsa State, with a total area of over 100 hectares, as well as 30,000 MTN shares held by StanbicIBTC Asset Management Limited.
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