A Federal High Court sitting in Kano presided over by Justice Zainab B. Abubakar on Tuesday ordered the forfeiture of the sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 recovered from a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu to the Federal Government.
According to a press release signed by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, the order was sequel to an ex parte application by the anti-graft agency seeking an interim forfeiture of the recovered money to the Federal Government.
The ex parte application was moved by Salihu Sani, counsel for the applicant.
In her ruling, Justice Zainab held “That the sum of $9,772,000 (Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Two Thousand United States Dollars) and £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pound Sterling) which are now in the custody of the applicant (EFCC) are in the interim forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
It would be recalled that on the 3rd day of February 2017, operatives of the Commission had stormed a building belonging to the former NNPC boss and recovered a staggering sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 stashed in a huge fire proof safe.
On February 8, 2017, Yakubu reported to the Commission’s Kano Zonal Office where he admitted being the owner of both the house and the recovered money.
Yakubu is still in EFCC custody.
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