- A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of over ₦5bn worth of shares linked to ex-Army property chief Maj. Gen. Umar Mohammed and businessman Kayode Filani
- The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission successfully argued that the shares were acquired with proceeds from fraudulent sales of Nigerian Army properties
- Justice Dehinde Dipeolu ruled that the assets, held across major Nigerian companies, be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government for the benefit of Nigerian Army Properties Limited
The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of 245,568,137 shares, valued at over ₦5 billion, traced to Maj. Gen. Umar Mohammed, former Group Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), and businessman Kayode Filani.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday by Justice Dehinde Dipeolu, followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which alleged that the shares were acquired using proceeds of unlawful activities during Mohammed’s tenure.
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EFCC secures final forfeiture of fraudulently acquired shares
Justice Dipeolu stated that the EFCC had presented a compelling case and noted that no objections were filed against the application. “Having reviewed the application before me, together with the affidavit evidence and the absence of any objection, I am satisfied that the applicant has fulfilled the statutory requirements for a final forfeiture order. The motion is therefore meritorious and succeeds,” the judge ruled.
The shares, now permanently forfeited to the Federal Government for the benefit of NAPL, were acquired through Awhua Resources Limited, a company linked to Mohammed. Investigations revealed that the transactions were facilitated via accounts managed by Rowet Capital Management Limited and Resort Securities & Trust Limited.
Conviction and asset diversion under scrutiny
During the proceedings, EFCC counsel Hanatu Kofanaisa informed the court that Mohammed had already been convicted by a Special Court Martial on 14 out of 18 counts of stealing and related offences. She added that the interim forfeiture order had been published in a national newspaper, and with no opposition raised, the final order was warranted.
According to the EFCC, properties belonging to NAPL were fraudulently sold under Mohammed’s leadership, with the proceeds diverted into the acquisition of shares in various companies to obscure the origin of the funds. The forfeiture was granted under Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
Forfeited shares span major Nigerian corporations
The forfeited shares include significant holdings in several publicly listed companies, such as:
• Cadbury Nigeria Plc
• Conoil Plc
• Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc
• Eterna Plc
• Flour Mills Plc
• Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc
• NASCON Allied Industries Plc
• Oando Plc
• University Press Plc
• Vitafoam Nigeria Plc
Additional shares were traced to:
• Nigerian Aviation Handling Company
• PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc
• Transcorp
• Okomu Oil Palm
• May & Baker
• Ecobank Transnational Incorporated
• Union Bank of Nigeria
• Unilever Nigeria Plc
In a sworn affidavit, EFCC investigator Nwike Fortune disclosed that the commission received a petition from NAPL against Mohammed and others over the unauthorised sale of Army properties.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the proceeds of those sales were used in the acquisition of shares in different companies now sought to be forfeited,” Fortune stated. He further alleged that Mohammed attempted to conceal the illicit funds by using Awhua Resources Limited to acquire shares through two stockbroking firms.
Source: Legit.ng