A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed an application seeking to vacate a final forfeiture order granted to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in connection with a N96 million contract fraud case.
The ruling, based on an application dated and filed on February 15, 2024, requested the court to set aside the interim and final forfeiture orders granted to the ICPC. These orders pertained to the freezing of certain bank accounts alleged to have received N96 million for unexecuted contracts.
The case involves the former Surveyor-General of the Federation (SGF), Ebisintei Bietoru Awudu, Kumeni Services Limited, and Geolev Nigeria Limited. The ICPC secured interim and final forfeiture orders from the Federal High Court in December 2021 and April 2022, respectively, over funds suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Kumeni Services Limited, the second respondent/applicant, challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter, arguing that the ICPC lacked the locus standi to seek a forfeiture order.
In her judgment on Thursday, Justice Evelyn Maha dismissed the arguments of Kumeni Services Limited as confusing and unsettling. She noted that the originating process filed by the applicant failed to reference any existing or theoretical law that would prevent the federal government from applying for a forfeiture.
