Court reverses forfeiture of N500m, $500,000 allegedly diverted by Zamfara gov
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday set aside its June 30, 2017, interim order of forfeiture of the sums of N500m and $500,000 allegedly looted from the Zamfara State’s share of the Paris Club refunds made by the Federal Government. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had alleged that the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, diverted the money from the state government’s account to two firms; First Generation Mortgage Bank Ltd and Gosh Projects Limited, from which the funds were allegedly recovered. Justice Nnamdi Dimgba on Friday dismissed EFCC’s application for an order of final forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government. The judge ruled that it would be “an unjust, inequitable and irresponsible exercise” of his judicial powers under section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act to gloss over the claims and go ahead to make the final forfeiture order. “I do not believe that this provision should be available where the abs...

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