The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of a property suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Delivering the ruling on Friday, vacation judge, Justice Deinde Dipeolu, directed that the property located at 26, Tolu Road, Olodi Apapa, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State, be forfeited to the government.
The order followed a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by its counsel, Hannatu Kofarnaisa.
In January 2025, the court had initially granted an interim forfeiture of the property, directing that the order be published in a national newspaper for any interested parties to show cause why the final forfeiture should not be made.
Moving the application for the final forfeiture on Friday, Kofarnaisa informed the court that, “no one showed cause within the 14-day window granted after the publication.”
The EFCC lawyer further submitted that the application was backed by an affidavit sworn to by Gyal Maina Gapani, an operative of the Commission.
After considering the arguments, Justice Dipeolu found merit in the EFCC’s application and ordered the permanent forfeiture of the Lagos property to the Federal Government, in favour of Sterling Bank Plc.
Details From the EFCC Investigation
According to the affidavit, Gapani stated:
“That the Commission on the 18th day of July 2022, received a petition from Sterling Bank PLC bothering on criminal conversion of funds and stealing of funds belonging to the bank wherein an unauthorized transfer of huge sums of money was done.”
The affidavit further explained that:
- Due to a system glitch, approximately ₦295,916,201.02 (Two Hundred and Ninety-Five Million, Nine Hundred and Sixteen Thousand, Two Hundred and One Naira, Two Kobo) was allegedly stolen by several customers.
- The money was misappropriated through PayAttitude Global Limited, a payment platform linked to Sterling Bank.
- Investigations revealed that one suspect, Ojora Sulaimon Kehinde, criminally converted ₦89 million belonging to Sterling Bank.
- Kehinde allegedly transferred a significant portion of the stolen funds to his wife, Aminat Olatanwa Ojora, via her Sterling Bank account.
- The transferred funds were allegedly used for the purchase of the property now forfeited at Tolu Road, Olodi Apapa, Lagos.
- Kehinde also allegedly involved his brother, Muritala Sulaimon Kehinde, to “front” the property purchase and handle the execution of the deed of assignment.
The EFCC stated that at the time the funds were moved, neither Kehinde nor his wife had the equivalent balance in their accounts, further solidifying suspicions of fraudulent activity.
