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Court Orders Forfeiture Of N1.04bn Allegedly Linked To Patience Jonathan

  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured an interim forfeiture of the sum of N1,000,494,000, found hidden away in a bank account … Continue reading Court Orders Forfeiture Of N1.04bn Allegedly Linked To Patience Jonathan


Court Orders Forfeiture Of N1.04bn Allegedly Linked To Patience Jonathan
A file photo of Mrs Patience Jonathan
Court Orders Forfeiture Of N1.04bn Allegedly Linked To Patience Jonathan
A file photo of Mrs Patience Jonathan.

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured an interim forfeiture of the sum of N1,000,494,000, found hidden away in a bank account allegedly linked to a former first lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan.

A statement from the EFCC on Friday revealed that the forfeiture followed an order granted by Justice Lewis Allagoa of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano.

“The forfeiture was as a result of a motion ex parte filed by the Commission seeking for the interim forfeiture of the sum of N1,000,494,000 (One Billion Four and Ninety Four Thousand Naira) only found hidden away in the bank account of MAGEL RESORT LIMITED, a company linked to the former first lady of Nigeria, Patience Jonathan,” it said.

According to the statement, the anti-graft agency received an intelligence alleging that a bank account was said to have stored a huge sum of money that is not being used by anybody.

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Upon receipt of the intelligence, the EFCC conducted a preliminary investigation which it said revealed that the former first lady and some relatives of her husband were alleged directors of the company.

While tracing the origin of the money, the commission said it discovered that N500,000 was deposited on May 20, 2015.

Five days later, N1,000,000,000 was transferred in two tranches from a company that was not incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

The court order read: “An interim forfeiture order is granted to the Federal Government in the sum of N1,000,494,000 (One Billion, Four Hundred and Ninety-Four Thousand Naira) only in the bank account of the first respondent Magel Resort Limited 4011019546 which is maintained with second respondent Fidelity Bank Plc”.

Justice Allagoa also ordered that the forfeited sum be deposited in the Treasury Single Account of the Federal Government.