The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent forfeiture of some money returned by a suspect linked to the suspended Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, Punch newspaper reported.
The report said the judge, Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa, made the order of final forfeiture of the monetary assets to the Nigerian government on Thursday.
President Muhammadu Buhari on September 18 placed Mrs Oyo-Ita on an indefinite suspension to allow the conclusion of an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The EFCC accuses her of corruption.
During a court session on Thursday, a lawyer for the anti-graft agency, M. A Abubakar, moved an application and said funds were voluntarily returned to the commission as proceeds of crime.
Mr Abubakar reminded the court of an earlier order made on June 28, granting an ex-parte application for the interim forfeiture of the assets.
He told the court that as of Thursday no one had filed an application to challenge that interim order.
While urging the judge to grant a permanent order of forfeiture of the assets, Mr Abubakar informed the court that the money had been paid into an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria immediately after the suspect returned it.
Premium Times
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