EFCC dragged to court over N13bn discovered in Lagos
– Lawyer Ogungbeje says the court should stop forfeiture of N13bn found in Lagos to government
– The activist says the court should tell EFCC to provide reports of its preliminary investigations into the case
– He also wants EFCC, ICPC and the police to begin investigation into the discovery The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been sued over the N13billion that it discovered at Osbourne Towers in Ikoyi, Lagos state. According to The Punch, the EFCC was dragged before a Federal High Court in Lagos by an activist lawyer Olukoya Ogungbeje.
Ogungbeje wants the court to suspend action on the forfeiture application filed by the anti-corruption agency until the EFCC has found out the owner of the money.
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Ogungbeje is praying that the court order the EFCC to provide a report of its preliminary or final investigation on ownership of the monies and how the funds got into the building.
He also urged the court to order the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) as well as the police force to start a thorough investigation of the recovered funds. Ogungbeje said: “This honourable court has the inherent jurisdiction under Section 6 (6)(b) of the Constitution to order and direct thorough investigation of the sources of the monies, their owners, the owners of the Osborne Towers where the monies were found and how they got into the building.
“A thorough and transparent investigation of the monies will strengthen the anti-corruption crusade. “Nigerians are interested in the sources, owners of the monies, owners of the building and how the monies got into Osborne Residential apartment.”
Recall that plusmilang.com had earlier reported that a court in Lagos state ordered that the $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 recovered by the EFCC from an apartment in the Ikoyi area of the state be temporarily forfeited to the Nigerian government.
In a ruling on Thursday, April 13 afternoon, Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered that the funds be handed over to the Federal Government for now.
The judge then adjourned the matter till May 5, 2017 for anyone who wants to claim the funds and give reasons why it should not be permanently forfeited to the government to show up before him.
