Court to deliver judgment on Saraki’s Ikoyi properties Friday

Justice Muhammed Liman of the Federal High Court Lagos will on Friday, February 19, 2021, deliver judgment in a suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the total and final forfeiture of two Ikoyi properties belonging to a former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki.

The court had on October 21, 2019, while granting an exparte application brought before it by the EFCC and argued by its counsel, Mr Nnaemeka Omewa, ordered interim forfeiture of the two properties located on 17 and 17b, McDonald Road, Ikoyi, EtiOsa Local Government Area of Lagos State, which were said to be reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity.

Upon being served with the interim forfeiture order, the former Saraki, through his counsel, Mr Kehinde

Ogunwunmiju (SAN), approached the court to discharge the interim order.

The judge, however, declined, and rather ordered parties to show reason why the two properties should or should not be forfeited to the federal government.

During the hearing of the application for final forfeiture, the EFCC, through its counsel, prayed the court to forfeit the properties to government on the grounds that they were obtained with loans from GTBank and repaid back with Kwara State funds.

But Saraki, through his lawyer, told the court that he was already a successful businessman with properties worldwide before he came into politics, hence that EFCC must prove to the court that such properties were proceeds of unlawful act.

Saraki lawyer, therefore, urged the court to dismiss the EFCC’s motion on the ground that the agency failed woefully to prove its case against his client.