A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the interim forfeiture of ₦30.7 million suspected to be proceeds of fraud linked to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Emeka Nwite granted the order on Monday after hearing an ex parte motion filed by the anti-graft agency. The court directed that the funds be temporarily forfeited to the Federal Government and ordered that the ruling be published in a national newspaper to notify any interested parties.
The judge ruled that any person or entity claiming an interest in the funds has 14 days from the date of publication to appear before the court and show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the government. He adjourned the matter to January 22 for a compliance report.
The EFCC applied, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2775/2025, on December 23, 2025, and moved it on January 2, 2026. Prosecutors sought an interim forfeiture order in respect of ₦30,700,000, which the commission said was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
Moving the application, EFCC counsel, Emenike Mgbemele, told the court that the request was brought pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, noting that the process was a non-conviction-based forfeiture proceeding.
According to the EFCC, the funds were paid into its recovery account with United Bank for Africa through four managers’ cheques—three for ₦10 million each and one valued at ₦700,000—issued in the name “M/C Draft Outstanding Account.”
In an affidavit in support of the application, EFCC investigator Bilkisu Abubakar said the commission commenced investigations following petitions alleging fraud involving senior officials of NNPC Ltd. She stated that the investigation involved intelligence gathering, bank enquiries, analysis of financial records and correspondence with relevant agencies, including the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Abubakar disclosed that the investigation identified Adamu Yakubu, a bureau de change operator, as a central figure in the transactions under review. She said Yakubu submitted a transaction ledger containing customer details and records after making a voluntary statement to the EFCC on September 2, 2025.
An analysis of the ledger, she said, revealed that over ₦4 billion had been transferred to multiple individuals and companies on the instructions of one Ibrahim Sani, identified as a staff member of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
According to the affidavit, Sani admitted during investigation that he used Yakubu to move funds and regularly deposited large sums in foreign currency with the bureau de change operator, who subsequently paid naira equivalents into accounts provided by him. Abubakar added that Sani failed to establish or verify the lawful source of the funds.
The investigator further stated that the ₦30.7 million remained in Yakubu’s possession and formed part of the funds allegedly supplied by Sani. Both men, she said, denied ownership of the money.
Abubakar noted that Yakubu subsequently raised four managers’ cheques in favour of the EFCC recovery account, copies of which were attached to the application placed before the court.
