The sum of N775 million and some assets connected to Jonah Otunla, a former Accountant-General of the Federation, and Colonel Bello Fadile, a former aide to Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Adviser, were ordered to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government on Monday by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The property, according to a statement released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission yesterday night, consists of two pieces of land and a building at Plot 1960 Cadastral Zone A05 Maitama District, FCT, Abuja and No. 8 Ajayi Crowther Street, Asokoro, Abuja.
The two others are a 4-bedroom twin duplex with guard quarters located at Plot 736, 7th Avenue Gwarimpa, FCT, Abuja, and a hotel that is now under construction with a generating set at Plot 621, Road 37, Gwarimpa, FCT, Abuja.
According to a statement made by Wilson Uwujaren, spokesperson for the commission, Otunla and Col. Fadile’s illegal actions were the source of the money and the properties.
The landed properties sought to be forfeited, according to him, are “reasonably suspected to be proceeds of an unlawful activity received, retained, concealed, and converted by the respondents from the office of the National Security Adviser to the President,” while the N775 million was returned by Otunla and Otunba Ade Adelakun (late) during the investigation.
According to Uwujaren, Justice Okorowo noted that the court was satisfied with the evidence on hand when it granted the final forfeiture and ordered the final forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Daily Trust
