The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of $7 million discovered in a commercial bank branch on Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the ruling on Wednesday following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by senior lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN).
The EFCC had earlier secured an interim forfeiture order for $7 million on August 27 .
Also, this is in compliance with the court’s directive, published the notice in a national daily on September 1.
However, no individual or organisation came forward to claim ownership of the funds.
While one lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, appeared but raised no objection, another counsel who previously indicated opposition failed to file any response or attend the proceedings.
Also, this led the judge to rule that the application was unopposed and that the funds should be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
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In an affidavit, the EFCC detailed how investigators, acting on intelligence, traced the suspicious lodgement of funds to the bank between March 25 and 26 before recovering the full sum from the cash officer.
