Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court Lagos on Monday ordered the final forfeiture of N9.2 billion and $8.4 million dollars said to be owned by Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The funds were domiciled in Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, Eco Bank, Stanbic bank, Skye Bank, Zenith Bank and First Bank.
Justice Olatoregun held the view that there was not enough cause in the affidavits filed before the court to show that the N1.8 billion domiciled in Fidelity Bank, N256 million domiciled in Eco Bank, N1,085,000,000 billion naira domiciled in Eco Bank, N39.4 million in Diamond, N7 million in Diamond Bank, N1.8 billion in Fidelity Bank, N307 million Stanbic Bank, N55 million in Diamond, N1.8 billion in Fidelity Bank, N174 million in Diamond, N858 million in Zenith, $429,000 dollars in Skye Bank, $4 million dollars in First Bank, $4,136,000 million dollars in Skye Bank should not be classified as proceeds of unlawful activities.
She therefore ordered the forfeiture of the sums totalling N9.2 billion and $8.4million to the federal government.
“Accordingly, the same funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities as defined in section 16 of Advanced Free Fraud and Related Offences Act and the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, are hereby forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria,” she ruled.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC ) had, through its counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, in October 2018, moved a motion before Justice Mojisola Olatoregun for the final forfeiture of the funds said to belong to the former First Lady.
The EFCC had secured an interim order for forfeiture of the sums on April 20, 2018, before the same judge.
Efforts by Mrs Jonathan, to upturn the interim forfeiture order by the same court placed on the sum of N2.4 billion linked to her was dismissed by the Supreme Court in March.
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