Court of Appeal affirms final forfeiture of assets linked to retired Gen. Emmanuel Atewe

The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has upheld the final forfeiture of N293.97 million, investment assets and several properties linked to a retired military officer, Major General Emmanuel Jebe Atewe. In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo, the appellate court dismissed Atewe’s appeal and affirmed an earlier ruling of the Federal […] Appeal Court upholds forfeiture of N293.9m, properties linked to ex-Military General Atewe

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has affirmed the judgement ordering the final forfeiture of the assets linked to Emmanuel Atewe, a retired major general, to the federal government.   The appellate court, in a unanimous ruling delivered virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, dismissed the Atewe’s appeal against the judgement of the federal high court in Lagos.   Atewe was a former commander of the joint task force (JTF) Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta.   THE FINAL FORFEITURE ORDER On May 5, 2023, the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the final forfeiture of several properties, cash and investment assets linked to Atewe, which the anti-graft agency alleged to be proceeds of unlawful activities.   Chukwujekwu Aneke, the presiding judge, had held that Atewe failed to satisfactorily explain the lawful source of the assets after the EFCC established reasonable grounds to suspect that they had been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.   The judge also rejected Atewe’s arguments that the forfeiture proceedings constituted an abuse of court process because he was already standing trial in a separate criminal case involving the same transactions.     The assets forfeited include N3.97 million in cash, plot MF62 at the outer northern expressway, Abuja, plot No. 1228, Jahi, Abuja, plots CP6386 and CP6387 at Sabon Lugbe east extension layout, Airport road, Abuja, one-hectare parcels of land in Kuje district, a 50-hectare farmland at Gaube farmland extension II Layout, Kuje, a parcel of land at Commercial layout, Yenagoa Gardens, Bayelsa state, 30,000 MTN shares held by Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, and plot No. CP10, Sector Centre B layout, Kuje, Abuja.   The anti-graft agency had told the trial court that investigations into the alleged diversion of over N8.5 billion belonging to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) through the JTF (Operation Pulo Shield) revealed that funds were routed through several companies and proxies before being used to acquire the assets.   The EFCC told the court that the properties were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.   Dissatisfied with the trial judge’s decision, the retired major general approached the appeal court.     THE APPEAL COURT’S JUDGMENT The appellate court presided over by Boloukuromo Ugo resolved all three issues raised in the appeal in favour of the EFCC.   The court rejected Atewe’s arguments that the civil forfeiture proceedings constituted an abuse of court process because he was facing criminal trial over almost the same matter.   The appellate court held that the forfeiture proceedings at the federal high court were directed solely against assets and not against the person of the appellant.   The court held that section 123 of the Armed Forces Act (AFA) and the decision in General Jafaru Muhammed vs EFCC, relied upon by Atewe, were inapplicable to his case.   The court also held that while Jafaru was a serving military officer, Atewe is a retired military officer.     The court ruled that the retired military officer failed to show sufficient proof that the assets were acquired genuinely, adding that his explanation referenced unspecified honoraria without providing adequate evidence linking those payments to the acquisition of the properties.

By Innocent Anaba The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos Division, Wednesday, affirmed the judgment of a Federal High Court in Lagos ordering the final forfeiture of multiple assets linked to retired Major General Emmanuel Atewe (retd) to the Federal Government, holding that his appeal lacked merit. In a unanimous judgment delivered virtually via Zoom, […] The post A’Court affirms forfeiture of General Atewe’s assets to FG, dismisses appeal appeared first on Vanguard News.