Court affirms forfeiture of N293.9m, Abuja properties linked to ex-Major General

The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal has upheld the final forfeiture of more than N293.97 million, investment assets and several high-value properties linked to Emmanuel Atewe, a retired military officer, affirming that the assets should be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

The unanimous judgment, delivered on Wednesday by Boloukuromo Moses Ugo (Justice) dismissed Atewe’s appeal against an earlier decision of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s application for the final forfeiture of the assets.

The appellate court upheld the judgment of Chukwujekwu Aneke, Justice of the Federal High Court, ruling that the appeal lacked merit and confirming that the assets were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

The forfeited assets include N293.97 million in cash, 30,000 MTN-linked investment units held in Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, and several landed properties in Abuja.

The properties are located along the Outer Northern Expressway, Jahi, Sabon Lugbe, Kuje, Gaube Farmland Extension II Layout, and Sector Centre B Layout in Kuje. Also forfeited is a commercial property in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

According to the EFCC, investigations traced the assets to funds allegedly diverted from allocations made for the operations of the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield.

The anti-graft agency said its investigation uncovered an alleged diversion of about N8.537 billion released for the military operation through a network of companies and individuals acting as proxies.

The Commission alleged that billions of naira earmarked for operational activities were paid to companies for contracts and services that were never executed, after which part of the money was allegedly channelled into acquiring assets linked to Atewe through companies associated with him.

The EFCC disclosed that N297 million traced to Cisco Nobots Limited was used in a property transaction in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, from which the Commission eventually recovered N290 million.

The Federal High Court had initially granted an interim forfeiture order before making it final after holding that Atewe failed to provide satisfactory evidence explaining the legitimate source of the assets.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, Atewe approached the Court of Appeal, arguing that the forfeiture proceedings were incompetent because he was entitled to protection under Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act.

He also contended that the civil forfeiture proceedings should not have commenced while criminal money laundering charges against him were still pending and further challenged the jurisdiction of the trial court to entertain the matter.

However, the three-member appellate panel resolved all the issues in favour of the EFCC.

The court held that the statutory protection provided under Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act applies only to serving members of the Armed Forces and not retired officers.

In its judgment, the court noted that Atewe himself admitted in an affidavit before the lower court that he had retired from military service before the forfeiture proceedings commenced.

The appellate court also ruled that Atewe failed to sufficiently establish the legitimate source of the assets, observing that his explanation merely referred to honoraria without demonstrating how the properties and funds were lawfully acquired.

On the argument that the forfeiture proceedings amounted to an abuse of court process because criminal proceedings were already pending against him, the court disagreed, holding that civil forfeiture proceedings can lawfully run concurrently with criminal trials and do not constitute an abuse of the judicial process.