Court orders final forfeiture of N1bn, $392,818 recovered from ex-First Bank employee

The federal high court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of N1,168,602,877, £35,070, and $392,818 recovered from Muiz Tijani Adeyinka, a former employee of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN).

On Monday, Alexander Owoeye, the presiding judge, ordered the final forfeiture of the funds after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) complied with the conditions stipulated by the court after the interim order was granted.

In November 2024, the court ordered the interim forfeiture of the funds and directed that a notice be published in a national newspaper.

The publication was meant to give anyone with an interest in the assets 14 days to appear before the court and explain why the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.

At the court proceedings on Monday, Zeenat Atiku, counsel to the EFCC, said the anti-graft agency received a petition from FBN in March 2024 about “fraudulent” transactions within and outside the bank.

The EFCC counsel said the investigation revealed that the principal suspect is Adeyinka, a former employee of the bank, who was attached to the settlement office of the financial institution.

Atiku alleged that Adeyinka used his office to manipulate “settlement accounts by creating fictitious domiciliary inflows with which he immediately transferred the naira equivalent to himself and his cronies”.

She said the former FBN employee allegedly used the fraudulent funds to purchase US dollars and digital currency as part of the money laundering plot.

“Investigation revealed that Muiz Tijani Adeyinka, who is the principal suspect, is a former staff of First Bank Nigeria Plc,” the EFCC counsel told the court.

“He is also the MD/CEO of Golden Sieve Logistics Ltd., Golden Sieve Properties Ltd., and Golden Sieve Motors Ltd., which are all duly incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

“He was attached to the settlement office of the bank, and with his office, he had some inalienable access available only to the settlement office.”

Since the recovered funds belong to FBN, the federal government is expected to return the money to the financial institution.

In June 2024, the INTERPOL section of the force criminal investigation department (FCID) declared Adeyinka wanted over an alleged diversion of over N40 billion from various customers’ accounts to different accounts in his control.