Court orders forfeiture of $49,700 recovered from ex-INEC REC

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent forfeiture of $49,700 recovered from the former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for Sokoto State in the 2023 general election, Dr Nura Ali.

The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, gave the order after the counsel for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Osuobeni Akponimisingha, moved a motion to that effect on Wednesday, October 29, 2025.

Akponimisingha, while moving the application, told the court that the ICPC had complied with the earlier interim order made by the court for the temporary forfeiture of the money.

The lawyer said a publication was made for interested person(s) to show cause why the recovered funds should not be forfeited permanently to the federal government as directed by the court.

He, however, said no interested person had shown up since the day of the publication and neither was any interested person represented in court on Wednesday.

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“We, therefore, seek an order forfeiting the sum of $49,700 to the federal government in view of the processes filed in respect of this matter from interim forfeiture to this stage,” Akponimisingha said.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Nwite held that the application by the lawyer was meritorious.

Justice Nwite had, on December 30, 2024, ordered the temporary forfeiture of the seized funds, after the lawyer moved the ex-parte motion.

While the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) was the applicant, Ali was the sole respondent in the motion ex-parte marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1846/2024.

The ICPC said $49,700.00 was “recovered from one Dr Nura Ali during a search operation by the Federal Government of Nigeria being property suspected to be proceed of an unlawful activity.”

It disclosed that the money was recovered during a search operation by Department of State Services (DSS) operatives at the residence of Ali.

The Star