Court Orders Final Forfeiture of N13b Found in Lagos Weeks After No One Claimed Ownership

 

The money was found hidden in a house

 

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday ordered the final forfeiture of about N13 billion found in Flat 7B, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, The Nation reports.

 

Justice Muslim Hassan ordered that the money be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government since nobody has claimed its ownership.

 

The judge, however, refused to grant the application of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) counsel, I. A. Mohammed, asking the court to award N5million as costs against a lawyer and rights activist, Olukoya Ogungbeje.

 

Ogungbeje had filed an application for stay of proceedings pending when Acting President Yemi Osinbajo –led probe panel will submit its report on the matter.

 

Justice Hassan said: “By any standard this huge sum of money is not expected to be kept without going through the designated financial institution.