Court orders forfeiture of P&ID assets to FG for failing to pay tax

A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the forfeiture of assets belonging to the Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) to the federal government.

The court gave the order after the company represented by Muhammad Kuchezi, a commercial director of P&ID incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and Adamu Usman, representative of the company in Nigeria, pleaded guilty to an 11-count charge of economic sabotage and money laundering.

Kuchezi, the first convict, was found guilty of counts one to 10, while Usman was convicted of counts one to 11.

The counts border on money laundering, abuse of office and economic sabotage.

Delivering the judgement, Iyang Edward, the judge, said his verdict is in line with the companies and allied act.

“That the assets of the first convict are forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria. An order is therefore made for the second convict to forfeit its assets to the federal government of Nigeria,” he held.

Testifying before the court earlier, Umar Babangida, an official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said the company had not been paying its taxes to the government.

“P&ID has no land in Calabar. The company has defaulted in the payment of tax,” he said.