Appeal Court upholds forfeiture of N293m, properties linked to ex-General Atewe

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld the final forfeiture of over N293.97 million, multiple landed properties and investment assets linked to retired Major General Emmanuel Jebe Atewe, affirming an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo dismissed Atewe’s appeal and upheld the decision of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, which granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s application for the permanent forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government.

According to the EFCC, the forfeited assets include N293.97 million, 30,000 MTN-linked units in Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, several plots of land in Abuja located in Jahi, Sabon Lugbe, Kuje, Gaube Farmland Extension II Layout and Sector Centre B Layout, as well as a commercial property in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

The anti-graft agency said investigations traced the assets to funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the alleged diversion of money released for the operations of the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield.

The commission alleged that about N8.537 billion allocated to the military operation was diverted through a network of companies and individuals acting as proxies. It said billions of naira were paid to companies for services that were never rendered, with part of the funds allegedly used to acquire assets linked to Atewe.

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

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

Challenging the judgment, Atewe argued that the forfeiture proceedings were invalid because he was entitled to protection under Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act, that the civil forfeiture case should not have proceeded while his criminal trial for money laundering was pending, and that the trial court lacked jurisdiction.

However, the Court of Appeal rejected all the arguments, holding that the protections under Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act apply only to serving military personnel and not retired officers.

The court noted that Atewe admitted in his affidavit that he had retired from the military before the forfeiture proceedings commenced.

The appellate court also ruled that Atewe failed to establish the lawful source of the assets, describing his explanation that they were acquired through honoraria as insufficient.

It further held that pursuing civil forfeiture proceedings while criminal charges are pending does not amount to an abuse of court process.

The court consequently dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and affirmed the final forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government.