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The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the permanent forfeiture of the sum of 49,700.00 US dollars allegedly recovered from the former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for Sokoto State, Dr Nura Ali, during the 2023 general elections. Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order after Osuobeni Akponimisingha, counsel to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), moved a motion to that effect. Akponimisingha, while moving the application, told the court that the ICPC had complied with the earlier interim order made by the court for the temporary forfeiture of the money. The lawyer said a publication had been made for any interested person(s) to show cause why the recovered funds should not be forfeited permanently to the Federal Government, as directed by the court. He, however, said no interested person had shown up since the day of publication, and neither was any such person represented in court on Wednesday. “We therefore seek an order forfeiting the sum of $49,700 US dollars to the Federal Government in view of the processes filed in respect of this matter, from interim forfeiture to this stage, my Lord,” he said. In his ruling, Justice Nwite held that the application by the lawyer was meritorious. “I have listened to the submission of the learned counsel to the applicant, and I have also gone through the affidavit evidence. “I am of the view that the application is meritorious. Consequently, the application is granted,” the judge ruled. Justice Nwite had, on December 30, 2024, ordered the temporary forfeiture of the seized funds after the lawyer moved the ex parte motion. While the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) was the applicant, Ali was the sole respondent in the motion ex parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1846/2024. The motion, dated December 20, 2024, and filed on December 24, 2024, was jointly filed by the ICPC and the Department of State Services (DSS). Mr Usman Dauda, the Director of Legal, signed the application on behalf of the DSS, and Akponimisingha, Assistant Chief Legal Officer at the ICPC, was part of the legal team that drafted the process. The motion sought an order of the court temporarily forfeiting the sum of $49,700.00 “recovered from one Dr Nura Ali during a search operation by the Federal Government of Nigeria, being property suspected to be proceeds of an unlawful activity.” It also sought an order directing the applicant, i.e. the FRN, through the ICPC and the DSS, to jointly conduct a thorough preliminary investigation into the alleged unlawful activities of Ali in respect of the moveable property sought to be forfeited and make a report to the court within 90 days. It sought an order directing the applicant, i.e. the FRN, through the ICPC and the DSS, to deposit the $49,700.00 in an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The application equally sought an order directing the applicant to publish a notice in any national newspaper calling for persons, whether human, juristic or artificial, having an interest in the money, to show cause why it should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government. Giving nine grounds why the application should be granted, the applicant said the victim of the alleged crime was the Federal Government of Nigeria and innocent taxpayers, including judges of courts across the country. It said the money was recovered during a search operation by operatives of the DSS at the residence of Ali. “The alleged moveable property of $49,700.00 was bribe money received by Dr Nura Ali when he was the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Sokoto State. “The alleged moveable property is not the legitimate earning of Dr Ali as INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner. The alleged moveable property is suspected to be proceeds of crime,” it said. The applicant argued that INEC does not pay its staff members in United States dollars as salaries or allowances and added that the essence of the application was not to compulsorily acquire the alleged moveable property from the alleged owner, but to preserve the property from dissipation. It said if the court granted the reliefs sought, interested persons, including the alleged owner, would be given an opportunity to offer an explanation as to the legitimacy of the alleged property. “Where cogent and verifiable explanation exists as to how the property was acquired, devoid of crime, the alleged owner or any other person having proprietary interest in the property will be allowed unrestricted possession of the property. “This application is not in conflict with the provisions of Sections 43 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantee the rights of citizens of Nigeria to acquire and own immoveable and moveable properties in any part of Nigeria,” it said. It would be recalled that Akponimisingha, who appeared for the FRN, had told the court that the motion ex parte prayed the court for four orders and urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice. He said a search was conducted in Ali’s residence in Kano and the sum of 49,700.00 US dollars was retrieved from the building. He told the court that Ali allegedly said that the sum of $150,000 US dollars was given to him by the former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, and Senator Aliyu Wamakko. The ICPC lawyer, who alleged that Ali made this disclosure in his extra-judicial statement to the DSS, said the former REC also wrote a letter to the security outfit in a bid to reclaim the money. He insisted that INEC does not pay its workers or RECs in dollars. Also, in the affidavit in support of the motion ex parte deposed to by Iliya Markus, a litigation officer with the ICPC, he said Akponimisingha informed him that he read through the case file and comprehended the facts forming the allegations leading to the execution of the search warrant by operatives of the DSS at Ali’s residence. Markus said the DSS received an intelligence report on Dr Ali on allegations of bribery received from stakeholders, i.e. politicians, in the course of his official duties as INEC REC in charge of Sokoto State. He said the intelligence report was processed and the residence of Ali in Kano was searched pursuant to a search warrant executed jointly by operatives of the ICPC and DSS. “A copy of the search warrant is hereby attached and marked as Exhibit DSS 1,” he said. The officer said in the course of executing the search warrant, the sum of $49,700.00 was recovered from the house. According to him, Dr Ali also made statements with respect to the search on his residence and the subsequent recovery of the alleged $49,700.00. “A copy of the said extra-judicial statement is hereby attached and marked as Exhibit DSS 2,” he said. He said invitation letters had been written to invite persons he claimed gifted him the alleged $49,700.00. “I also know as a fact that Dr Nura Ali did not report the gift of the alleged $49,700.00 to any law enforcement agency as required by extant laws of the land. “Dr Ali had in the past written letters to the State Security Services requesting the release of the alleged $49,700.00 bribe money to him. “Copies of the said letters are hereby attached and marked as Exhibits DSS 3 and 4 respectively,” he said. Markus said the investigation was yet to be concluded, hence the need for the 90-day application. Justice Nwite, who said that the application was meritorious, granted the prayers and adjourned the matter till January 30, 2025, for a report of compliance on the publication in the media and till March 31, 2025, for the hearing of the matter. ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
