Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court has ordered the confiscation and final forfeiture of a number of assets tied to former Acting Accountant‑General Chukwunyere Nnabuoku after his conviction in a corruption case. The ruling followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission seeking seizure of properties and investments identified as proceeds of unlawful activity.
Delivering the judgment, the judge said the EFCC’s application had merit and cited existing Supreme Court decisions that, in money‑laundering cases, forfeiture of proceeds is a natural consequence of conviction. “In crimes such as money laundering, forfeiture of the proceeds of crime is deemed to be a natural consequence of conviction,” he said, adding that assets traced to criminal activity remain liable to forfeiture once guilt is established.
Defense counsel had urged that a pending appeal made a forfeiture order an abuse of process, but Justice Omotosho rejected that argument, holding that the filing of an appeal does not prevent the court from making a final forfeiture order and that the order would not interfere with the appeal’s outcome. “In final analysis, the properties of the convict which have been identified to be purchased from proceeds of crime in this matter are hereby finally forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the judge ruled.
The forfeiture covers several bank accounts and investments named in the EFCC’s application, including accounts linked to Temeeo Synergy Concept Limited, Turge Global Investment Limited, Laptev Bridge Limited and Arafura Transnational Afro Ltd. A five‑bedroom duplex at City Gate Estate, Kukwaba, Abuja, reportedly valued at ₦64 million, together with a ₦3 million infrastructural levy attached to the property, was also ordered forfeited; the EFCC said the house keys had earlier been voluntarily surrendered by Nnabuoku as part of restitution.
Large holdings of quoted shares were likewise affected. The order includes millions of shares in Access Holdings, First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, UBA Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, as well as stakes in Dangote Cement Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and Cadbury Nigeria Plc. The EFCC placed the estimated market value of those stocks at about ₦1.94 billion as of March 29.
