Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, July 11, 2025, granted an order for the final forfeiture of two properties, several vehicles, and large sums of money to the Federal Government of Nigeria in connection with a major bank fraud case.
The forfeited assets include:
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A three-bedroom bungalow at No. 8 Grace Crescent, Efab Queens Estate, Gwarinpa, Abuja
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Vehicles: one Mercedes Benz C300, one gray BMW 3 Series SUV, one black 2012 Range Rover, three Toyota Hilux (2008, 2010, and 2014 models), one black 2016 BMW X6, and two additional Range Rover vehicles
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Cash sums of ₦326,400,000 (Three Hundred and Twenty-Six Million, Four Hundred Thousand Naira) and $480,000 (Four Hundred and Eighty Thousand United States Dollars)
The court granted the order following a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by counsel H.U. Kofarnaisa.
The order followed a prior interim forfeiture ruling and publication in a national newspaper, inviting interested parties to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.
In support of the application, EFCC investigator Sulaiman Aminu Muhammad deposed an affidavit stating that the Commission received a petition from a first-generation bank regarding a large-scale fraud involving customers’ accounts. The bank initially reported a fraud of ₦1.4 billion, later updated to ₦2.007 billion in a supplementary petition dated July 24, 2023.
Investigations revealed that:
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Atus Homes Limited fraudulently received ₦681.2 million from 126 customer accounts in multiple tranches.
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Fav Oil & Gas Limited received ₦1.388 billion from 429 customer accounts.
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₦887.47 million of the stolen funds was transferred to various accounts in other banks.
Kofarnaisa submitted that the funds in the accounts were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity and were not linked to any legitimate business.
She also informed the court that the principal suspect had been arraigned before a Federal High Court and that the trial is ongoing.
In his ruling, Justice Osiagor held that the EFCC’s application was meritorious and consequently ordered the final forfeiture of the identified assets to the Federal Government.
