Yobe Auditor General forfeits 11 properties to govt

Justice Fadima Murtala Aminu of the Federal High Court sitting in Damaturu, Yobe State has ordered the interim forfeiture of 11 landed properties, in Damaturu metropolis, belonging to Alhaji Idris Yahaya, the Auditor General of all the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Yobe State.

The judge gave the order on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, following an ex parte application filed by the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking an interim forfeiture of the properties.

EFCC counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed, told the court that Yahaya had some landed properties suspected to be proceeds of crime, owing to an alleged criminal diversion of public funds, abuse of office and money laundering reported to the Commission.

A petitioner had alleged that the suspect enriched himself by putting ghost workers into the payroll of LGAs in Yobe State and acquired landed properties from the proceeds of the crime.

Investigation by the EFCC showed that the suspect diverted huge sums of money from the coffers of Yobe LGAs and illegally acquired the following properties:

Farsawa Plaza opposite First Bank of Nigeria Limited, along Gashua road, Damaturu; a mega plaza opposite Central Bank of Nigeria complex, situated along Gujba Road, Damaturu.

Others are: 20 units of self-contained, four units of single rooms self-contained and two units of rooms and parlour self-contained apartments, situated opposite the Central Bank of Nigeria Complex, along Gujba road, Damaturu.

Also identified by the Commission are: four units of rooms and parlour self-contained apartment, a fenced plot of land, three-bedroom flats and BB shopping complex, all situated opposite the Central Bank of Nigeria complex, along Gujba road, Damaturu.

The rest are properties situated at plot number C300 at 440 Housing Estate, Gujba road and BB Lounge, beside Nishadi Kilishi, along Maiduguri road, Damaturu, Yobe State.

Ahmed prayed the court to order the interim forfeiture of the properties to the Federal Government  and equally submitted that the suspect is living above his means as a civil servant.

Consequently, Justice Aminu granted the application as prayed and ordered the interim forfeiture of the 11 landed properties.

She also directed the publication of the order in any national newspaper, for the respondent or anyone having legal claims to the  properties  to appear before the court, “to show cause within 14 days,  why a final order of forfeiture should not be made”.

The Star