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EFCC hands over 14 forfeited properties to Enugu State
• Assets to be deployed to optimum benefit of Enugu people – Gov Mbah
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on Wednesday, released 14 properties initially forfeited to the Federal Government to Enugu State Government, following the request by the Governor Peter Mbah administration.
The properties were handed over to Governor Mbah by the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, during a brief ceremony at the agency’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
This was even as Governor Mbah assured that the recovered assets would be used to the optimum benefit of the people of Enugu State.
Speaking at the event, Olukoyede, who disclosed that the road to the forfeiture dated back to 2007, said the event spoke of the mutually beneficial relationship existing between the federal government and states.
Commending Dr. Mbah “for the great work he is doing in Enugu State”, the EFCC Chairman said the President was very much interested in the state-of-the-art hospital that the Mbah administration proposed to build in Enugu State, saying the structures for medical facilities among the released assets would go a long way in helping to realise the Mbah vision for the benefit of not just Enugu State, but the entire country and beyond.
EFCC Chairman, Olukoyede, Gov Peter Mbah with other officials during the visit
“What we are witnessing today testifies to a symbiotic relationship that should exist between the federal government and the state governments. The essence of our meeting here today is for us to handover properties that were forfeited to the federal government, which of course belong to Enugu State people, back to the people. It shows that governance can work in Nigeria.
“If you look at the history of this particular matter, it takes us back to 2007 when we started the prosecution. So, we are looking at about 17 years since the matter has been on. Eventually some of the properties were forfeited and since then, the EFCC has been managing those properties even though the titles of quite a number of the properties have been revoked by the Enugu State government,” Olukoyede said.
Earlier in his remarks, Governor Mbah, who noted that the properties were forfeited not to his state but to the federal government, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for making it possible for the assets to be returned to the government and people of Enugu State.
“The importance and significance of this event can never be lost on us and we do not also take it for granted. Those assets were forfeited to the federal government. And this brings me to another gratitude that I want to convey here today. So, I want to acknowledge and recognise the important role played by the President, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Without the proactiveness and speed at which he acted on our request to cede these assets back to the people and government of Enugu State, we wouldn’t have been here today. Therefore, I want to thank him most sincerely for granting our request for these assets that were forfeited to the federal government to be ceded back to Enugu State.
“I want to assure us that those properties would be used for the benefit of the people of Enugu state. All the assets without any exemption, and they would be deployed to optimum use for the benefit of the people of Enugu state.”
He also lauded Olukoyede’s initiatives at making the EFCC a strong institution and the role of the EFCC in the release of the properties to the state.
“I will not end this remark without acknowledging the work the EFCC chairman and his team are doing in strengthening this very important institution. Thank you very much particularly for the effort that you have put in to make today a reality,” the governor stated.
The properties comprise houses, transmission equipment for radio and television stations, a building for medical operations, among others.
News
EFCC releases full list of 58 Ex- Governors accused of looting over N2. 2trillion within 25 years
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has revealed names of 58 former governors who allegedly looted, embezzled, laundered or misappropriated the sum of N2.187 trillion in 25 years.
This figure excludes seized properties across the globe and others under probe, which run into billions of Naira.
The looted N2.2 trillion is equivalent to the entire 2024 budget of Lagos State, valued at N2.25 trillion, as well as the combined budgets of all the South-East states in the same year, totaling N2.29 trillion.
Notably, this sum surpasses the budgets of both the North-Central and North-East states for 2024.
The 58 former governors under EFCC scrutiny hail from various regions of the country, reflecting the widespread nature of the alleged corruption.
Since the inception of civil rule on May 29, 1999, Nigeria has seen a total of 170 governors across its 36 states.
A breakdown of the governorship landscape reveals significant variations among states.
For instance, Abia State has seen four governors, including notable figures like Orji Uzor Kalu and Theodore Orji. Conversely, Ekiti State, despite being the second least populated state in Nigeria, has witnessed a revolving door of eight governors within the same period, indicating a high turnover rate.
Furthermore, the EFCC’s data highlights the complex legal battles faced by some former governors.
While 18 governors served in acting capacities or had their elections annulled, 36 are currently serving, and 114 completed their terms. Only four former governors have been convicted of fraud-related charges, including prominent figures like Lucky Igbinedion and James Ibori.
Despite the EFCC’s aggressive prosecution efforts, no former governor has been among the 6,981 individuals convicted of fraud by the commission between 2020 and 2022.
However, cases against several ex-governors are still pending, while others have been dismissed or resulted in acquittals.
The EFCC’s list of former governors under investigation includes names like Timipre Sylva, Ayo Fayose, and Peter Odili, with alleged amounts ranging from billions to hundreds of millions of Naira.
The commission has vowed to revisit cases involving a total of N772 billion against 13 former governors, signaling its determination to hold corrupt officials accountable.
Amidst allegations of operating a Ponzi scheme, retired Commissioner of Police Aderemi Adedoye has come under scrutiny for his involvement in an investment club.
Adedoye, who vehemently denies any wrongdoing, asserts that the club operates legally and transparently, with assets valued at around N20 billion.
The EFCC’s pursuit of justice against corrupt officials underscores the ongoing battle against graft in Nigeria.
As investigations continue and legal proceedings unfold, the fate of these former governors hangs in the balance, with accountability and transparency at the forefront of public discourse.
The 58 ex-governors who are currently or have previously faced investigations by EFCC, with alleged amounts in question, consist of:
Late Abubakar Audu (N10.966 bn),
TA Orji and sons (N551 bn)
Yahaya Bello (N80.2 bn)
Chimaroke Nnamani (N5. 3 bn)
Sullivan Chime (N450 million)
Kayode Fayemi (N4bn)
Ayo Fayose (N6.9 bn)
Abdullahi Adamu (N15bn)
Danjuma Goje (N5bn)
Aliyu Wamakko (N15 bn)
Sule Lamido (N1.35 bn)
Joshua Dariye (N1. 16 bn)
Timipre Sylva (N19.2 bn)
Saminu Turaki (N36bn)
Orji Uzor Kalu (N7. 6bn)
Bello Matawalle (N70 bn)
Lucky Igbinedion (N4. 5 bn)
Musa Kwakwanso (N10bn)
Peter Odili (N1000 bn)
Jolly Nyame (N1.64 bn)
James Ngilari (N167 m)
Abdulaziz Yari (N84 bn)
Godswill Akpabio (N100bn)
Abdul fatah Ahmed (N9 bn)
Ali Mode-Sheriff (N300bn)
Willie Obiano (N43 bn)
Ibrahim Dankwambo (N1. 3bn)
Darius Ishaku (N39bn)
Ramalan Yero (N700m)
Achike Udenwa (N350m)
Rochas Okorocha (N10. 8bn)
James Ibori (N40 bn),
DSP Alamieyeseigha (N2.655bn)
Gabriel Suswam (N3. 111bn)
Samuel Orton (N107bn)
Murtala Nyako (N29bn)
Rashid Ladoja (4.7bn)
Christopher Alao-Akala (N11. 5 bn)
Abdulkadir Kure (N600m)
Babangida Aliyu (N4bn)
Abubakar Audu (N10bn)
Idris Wada (N500m)
Ibrahim Shekarau (N950m)
Adamu Aliero (N10bn)
Usman Dakingari and wife (N5. 8bn)
Attahiru Bafarawa N19. 6bn)
Jonah Jang (N6. 3bn)
Aliyu Doma (N8bn)
Tanko Al’Makura (N4bn)
Boni Haruna (N93bn)
Bindow Jibrila (N62bn)
Adamu Muazu (13bn)
Isa Yuguda N212bn)
Mohammed Abubakar (N8. 5bn).
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty against 11 soldiers on trial in the same case, but the Goma court acquitted three of them, ruling that the charges against those soldiers were “not established”.
The troops were fighting against the mostly Tutsi M23 (March 23 movement) rebels, who took up arms again in late 2021, seizing large swathes of North Kivu province.
“They never fled from the enemy nor abandoned their position — on the contrary,” said Alexis Olenga, a lawyer for one of the five officers facing charges.
Olenga said the soldiers were based at Lushangi-Cafe, a federal army position close to the strategic town of Sake, 20 kilometres (12 miles) down the road from North Kivu’s capital Goma.
These were the first capital punishment sentences since authorities decided on March 13 to lift a suspension on executions that had been enforced since 2003.
The failure of the army and its auxiliaries to halt the advance of the M23 rebels has raised suspicion that the security forces had been infiltrated.
Several military personnel as well as members of parliament, senators and business leaders have been arrested and accused of “complicity with the enemy”.
For the last 20 years, death sentences have been handed down in the DRC, especially in cases involving the military or armed groups, but have systematically been commuted to life in prison.
Human rights groups and the Catholic Church have called on the government to abolish capital punishment for any crime. (AFP)
The suspected whose church in located in Amorji-Nike, Enugu East Local Government Area was also accused of unlawfullly being in possession of a pump action gun, another locally made gun and two live ammunition.
According the Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, the suspect was arrested on May 1, 2024 by men of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad following the receipt of a report.
He was alleged that the prophet abducted, physically assaulted and had carnal knowledge of the female victim under the pretense of curing her of spiritual problems.
He said: “A preliminary investigation reveals that the suspect, an acclaimed prophet and owner of a church (names withheld), in the course of providing the said spiritual service, kept the victim beyond the number of days he promised her parents.
“He thereafter compelled them to sell their plot of land to pay him for services rendered. Meanwhile, a search executed in his premises led to the recovery of one pump action, one locally-made gun and two live cartridges. Further discreet investigation is ongoing.” (Daily Sun)
EFCC releases full list of 58 Ex- Governors accused of looting over N2. 2trillion within 25 years
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