A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on Wednesday, dismissed the application filed by one Francis Momoh and affirmed the final forfeiture of properties worth N1.8bn recovered from a former Executive Director, Projects, Niger Delta Development Commission, Tuoyo Omatsuli, to the Federal Government.
Justice Chuka Obiozor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, had, on December 10, 2018, ordered the final forfeiture of the properties which include Block 117, Plot 4, Lekki peninsula scheme, TPAO 992, Ikate, Eti-Osa L.G.A, Lagos, and Plots 1-18, Block 43, TPAO 992, Ikate, Lekki peninsula, Eti-Osa, Lagos.
Others are Plot 1b, Northern Business District, Lekki scheme 1 and Plot 1, Block 25, Lekki peninsula residential scheme 1, Eti-Osa.
Dissatisfied with the order, Momoh had approached the appellate court seeking to set aside the order of the court.
But in a judgment read by Justice Daniel Kalio, the appellate court held that Momoh did not place any material before the court “to enable it to disturb the findings of the lower court”.
A statement on Thursday by the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed that the appellate court also held that Momoh’s appeal lacked merit and was accordingly dismissed.
“The judgment of the lower court is affirmed,” it further held.
The statement titled, ‘Appeal Court affirms final forfeiture of NNDC director, Tuoyo Omatsuli’s N1.8bn properties,’ said the counsel to the EFCC, Ekene Iheanacho, while moving ex parte application for the interim forfeiture of the properties had referred to paragraph four of the affidavit, detailing how a contractor with the NDDC, Starline Consultancy Services Limited, was paid N10.218bn as consultancy fee for levies collected from oil-producing companies in the Niger Delta Region.
It was further stated that out of the money paid to Starline, N3.645bn was paid as a kickback to Omatsuli through a company named Building Associates Limited.
“Some of the funds were used by Building Associates to buy properties in the name of a company, Don Parker Properties Limited, where Omatsuli had majority shareholding,” Iheanacho had further told the court.
Iheanacho had also told the court that Momoh, whom he described as the majority shareholder in Building Associates Limited, was introduced as a shareholder in Don Parker Properties Limited to disguise the nature of the crime.
“Delivering his judgment, Justice Obiozor had held that the properties were acquired through proceeds from kickbacks received by Building Associate Limited operated by Momoh on behalf of Tuoyo; and ruled that the properties be finally forfeited to the Federal Government,” the statement read.
