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Court orders forfeiture of N28.5m, property linked to Lagos director

A federal high court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of N28.5 million belonging to Anifowoshe Alade, a civil servant in the state.

Alade is the director of accounts at the state’s ministry of public works corporation.

Rilwan Aikawa, the presiding judge, also ordered the forfeiture of a a number of houses and a piece of land belonging to him.

The judge gave the order on Wednesday following an ex-parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking forfeiture of the money and property.

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The property are six flats of three-bedroom apartment; six flats of two-bedroom apartment, six flats of one-bedroom apartment, four flats of three-bedroom duplex and a plot of land, all in Lagos.

Others are a semi-detached three-bedroom flat and one unit of three-bedroom terrance in Ogun state.

In an affidavit deposed to by Zayyanu Halliru, an investigator with the EFCC, Alade, while holding the position of director of accounts, was said to have incorporated a company called MAJ Anny International Limited.

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It stated that Alade, who is a director in the company and the sole signatory to its account, used his position and company’s account to divert public funds meant for the corporation.

The deponent, among other prayers in the affidavit, said: “I know, as a fact, that we traced to the respondent the sum of N106, 095,960.00 which sums he fraudulently stole from Public Works Corporation, Lagos state, to his personal account No. 0015893001 domiciled in Guaranty Trust Bank and converted same to his personal use.

“I know as a fact that we traced to the respondent the sum of N223,373,475.00 which sums he fraudulently stole from Public Works Corporation, Lagos state to Maj Anny International Limited, being his company’s account domiciled in Zenith Bank.”

The judge had earlier granted the application and ordered the temporary forfeiture of the sum and property on Thursday.

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While ordering the final forfeiture, Aikawa held that the applicant had shown reasonable cause that the fund and property were proceeds of unlawful activity.

The judge held that the federal government “should take such administrative steps to ensure that the funds and properties are transmitted to the Lagos state government in view of the evidence before me.”

Both the federal and Lagos state governments had laid claim to the property.

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