The Kaduna Division of the Court of Appeal has affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court Kano, which ordered the interim forfeiture of the money found in a house in Kaduna belonging to former Group Managing Director of NNPC, Engineer Andrew Yakubu. Blueprint recalled that On 3 February, 2017, when operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission stormed a house allegedly belonging to the former NNPC boss, it uncovered the sum $9,772,800 (Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Two Thousand, Eight Hundred Dollars ) and another £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pounds Sterling) stashed in a fi reproof safe. The money, according to Yakubu, were gifts from well wishers. However the Commission suspected that the money was proceeds of crime and that prompted the EFCC to secure an interim forfeiture from the Federal High Court on the money.
Yakubu had through his counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, approached the Federal High Court in Kano asking the court to revoke the order. However, the court presided over by Justice Z.B Abubakar on 10 May, 2017 dismissed the application and affirmed the order of interim forfeiture it granted on the 13th February, 2017.
Dissatisfied with decision of the Federal High Court, Yakubu, again approached the Court of Appeal in a bid to reverse the interim forfeiture order and get his money back. The appeal was filed on the 22nd of May, 2017 while the commission fi led its response which was subsequently adopted on the 29th of January 2018 before Friday’s ruling.
