Court orders final forfeiture of N57.4m tractors, tricycles linked to ex-gov’s aide

The Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, the state capital, has ordered the final forfeiture of two tractors and two auto rickshaws by Kayode Oyin-Zubair, a former Special Assistant on Community Intervention to ex-Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.

In a ruling on Thursday, July 24, 2025, Justice Haleema Saleeman dismissed an application filed by Oyin-Zubair, seeking to set aside an earlier interim forfeiture order on the items and upheld the arguments of EFCC’s counsel, Mustapha Kaigama, in favour of the applicant, the Self Reliance Economic Advancement Programme (SEAP), that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the forfeited items are valued at N57.4 million.

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Oyin-Zubair, who served as an assistant between 2020 and 2023 to Ahmed, had approached SEAP to finance the procurement of 100 auto rickshaws, commonly called “tricycles”, and 100 mini-buses for members of the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).

The EFCC stated that while SEAP disbursed N192 million for the purchases, investigations revealed that N72 million in repayments made by the beneficiaries was diverted and used by Oyin-Zubair to acquire two tractors and two auto rickshaws.

The EFCC further disclosed that its operatives recovered the illegally acquired items in a warehouse along Fate Road in Ilorin and secured an order for their interim forfeiture in November 2024.

The Star