A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the interim forfeiture of ₦30.7 million suspected to be proceeds of fraud linked to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Justice Emeka Nwite granted the order on Monday after hearing an ex parte motion filed by the EFCC. He directed that the funds be temporarily forfeited to the federal government and ordered the publication of the ruling in a national newspaper.
The judge said any person with an interest in the money has 14 days to appear before the court and show why it should not be permanently forfeited. He adjourned the case to January 22 for a compliance report.
The EFCC filed the application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2775/2025, on December 23, 2025, and moved it on January 2, 2026. Prosecutors sought an interim forfeiture order for ₦30,700,000, which they said was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
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EFCC counsel Emenike Mgbemele told the court that the request was brought under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, adding that the process was a non-conviction-based forfeiture proceeding.
According to the commission, the money was paid into the EFCC recovery account with United Bank for Africa through four managers’ cheques—three valued at ₦10 million each and one of ₦700,000—issued in the name “M/C Draft Outstanding Account”.
In an affidavit, EFCC investigator Bilkisu Abubakar said the commission launched an investigation after receiving petitions alleging fraud involving senior officials of the NNPC. She said investigators conducted intelligence gathering, bank enquiries, analysis of financial records, and correspondence with agencies, including the Corporate Affairs Commission.
Abubakar said the probe identified Adamu Yakubu, a bureau de change operator, as a key figure in the transactions under review. She said Yakubu submitted a ledger showing transaction records and customer details after making a voluntary statement to the EFCC on September 2, 2025.
An analysis of the ledger, she said, showed that more than ₦4 billion was transferred to multiple individuals and companies on the instructions of Ibrahim Sani, identified as a staff member of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
Abubakar said Sani later admitted that he used Yakubu to move funds and that he regularly deposited large sums in foreign currency with the bureau de change operator, who then paid naira equivalents into accounts provided by him. She added that Sani failed to verify the source of the funds.
Investigators said the ₦30.7 million remained with Yakubu and formed part of the money allegedly supplied by Sani. Both men denied ownership of the funds, according to the affidavit.
Abubakar said Yakubu later raised four managers’ cheques in favour of the EFCC recovery account, copies of which were attached to the application before the court.
