Ex-NNPC Boss asks Court to Reverse Forfeiture Order over Seized $9m

The former Manag­ing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Engr Andrew Yakubu has asked a Fed­eral High Court sitting in Kano to vacate the order of forfeiture it earlier granted federal government.
Yakubu wants the court to set aside the order and return the $9,772,800 and £74,000 belonging to him because the court made the order without jurisdiction.

Engr Yakubu, through his counsel, Mr Ahmed Raji (SAN), said the court lacked the territorial ju­risdiction to entertain the matter being one related to a crime alleged to have been committed in Abuja, outside the territorial juris­diction of this noble court.
In a motion on notice with suit number FHC/ICN/CS/24/2017, Raji ar­gued that by Section 45 of the Federal High Court Act, an offence shall be tried only by a court exer­cising jurisdiction in the area or place where the offence was committed.
According to the law­yer, “No aspect of the per­ceived offence in respect of which the Order of 13th February, 2017 was made, was committed within the Kano judicial division of this Honour­able Court”.
He said the Federal Government lacked the competence (locus stan­di) to seek the interim order of the court granted on 13th February, 2017.
“By Section 28 of the EFCC Act, only the com­mission, i.e. the EFCC has the vires to seek an Order for the interim forfeiture of property under the Act. The power of this Hon­ourable Court to make in­terim forfeiture Order(s) pursuant to Sections 28 & 29 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Com­mission Act, 2004 (here­inafter “EFCC Act”) is ap­plicable ONLY to alleged offences charged under the EFCC Act and not to offences cognizable under any other law.
“The ex-parte Order of this Honourable Court dated 13th February 2017, was made in respect of alleged offences under the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Relat­ed Offences Commission Act (hereinafter “ICPC Act”) and not the EFCC Act as prescribed by Sec­tion 28 & 29 thereof.