PUNCH
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission has secured an interim forfeiture of N1.04bn lodged in three
deposit accounts with Fidelity Bank Plc on May 20 and 25, 2015 by a
company linked to the former first lady, Patience Jonathan.
The forfeiture order by the Federal High
Court sitting in Kano and presided over by Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa was
consequent upon an ex parte motion filed by the commission seeking for
the interim forfeiture of the money, which was found in the bank account
of Magel Resort Limited.
This was contained in a statement in Abuja on Friday by the acting EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade.
The commission had obtained an
intelligence that a bank account domiciled in Fidelity Bank, had a huge
sum of money that was not being utilised by anyone.
Upon receipt of the intelligence, the
EFCC swung into action by conducting preliminary investigation which
revealed that Patience and some relatives of former President Goodluck
Jonathan were directors of the company.
Others named as directors are Oba Tamunotonye, Goodluck Jonathan Aruera, Goodluck Ariwabai and Esther Fynface.
In trying to trace the origin of the
money, it was discovered that N500,000 was deposited on the 20th of May,
2015 by Fynface, who was alleged to be in charge of the company, while
N1bn was transferred in two tranches on the 25th May, 2015 from Pagmat
Oil & Gas Limited, a company that was not incorporated with the
Corporate Affairs Commission.
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Ruling on the motion, Justice
Lewis-Allagoa held that, “An interim forfeiture order is granted to the
Federal Government in the sum of N1,000,494,000 in the bank account of
the second respondent, Magel Resort Limited maintained with the second
respondent Fidelity Bank Plc.”
The court further ordered that the forfeited sum be deposited in the Treasury Single Account of the Federal Government.
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