Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the Kwara State High Court, sitting in Ilorin, on Thursday, ordered the final forfeiture to the Federal Government of a plaza valued at N150m belonging to a civil servant in the state, Rasaq Momonu.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ilorin zonal office, had approached the court to give an order of final forfeiture of Asmau Plaza situated in the Tanke Area of Ilorin on the allegation that the said property was acquired with proceeds of an unlawful activity.
Momonu is an accountant with the Kwara State Government and is an assistant director.
The affidavit deposed to by Musa Gidado, an investigating officer with the EFCC, read, “Investigations revealed that Rasaq Momonu used his influence as an accountant with the Kwara State Government to inflate and award contracts for the construction of two classrooms at Ogbondoroko and Obanisuwa communities in Kwara State.
“Investigations further revealed that the respondent who is a civil servant that earns less than N100,000 in a month cannot afford to build the house known as Asmau Plaza between 2010 and 2012.
“That I know as a fact that the respondent was confronted with the above findings by the applicant which he did not dispute and has agreed to forfeit the property known as Asmau Plaza to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Moving the application for final forfeiture on Thursday, counsel for the applicant, Nnaemeka Omewa, urged the court to grant the order based on the provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
Omewa said, “My Lord, we have a motion on notice dated 19th July, 2019 and filed on the same day; the motion is brought pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee fraud and other Fraud-related Offences. I urge the court to grant the motion.”
Justice Oyinloye granted the application and resolved all the issues raised in favour of the EFCC.
The judge said, “The application brought by the EFCC is meritorious and granted; this honourable court hereby orders the final forfeiture of the landed property known as Asmau Plaza, Tanke Road, Ilorin, Kwara State to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
