Appeal Court Upholds Final Forfeiture of Ex-Major General’s MTN Shares, Abuja Lands

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has affirmed the final forfeiture of several high-value assets linked to retired Major General Emmanuel Atewe to the Federal Government, dismissing his appeal against an earlier judgement of the Federal High Court.

In a unanimous judgement delivered virtually on Wednesday, the appellate court upheld the decision ordering the forfeiture of cash, landed properties and investment assets believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

Atewe, a former Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta, had challenged the May 5, 2023 judgement of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s application for the permanent forfeiture of the assets.

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court had ruled that Atewe failed to provide a satisfactory explanation on the legitimate source of the assets after the EFCC established reasonable grounds to suspect they were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

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The trial court also dismissed the retired officer’s argument that the forfeiture proceedings amounted to an abuse of court process because he was already facing a separate criminal trial over related transactions.

Among the assets forfeited are N3.97 million in cash, several plots of land in Abuja, including properties in Jahi, Kuje, Sabon Lugbe and the Outer Northern Expressway, a 50-hectare farmland in Kuje, a parcel of land in Yenagoa Gardens, Bayelsa State, and 30,000 MTN shares managed by Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited.

According to the EFCC, 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 the funds were channelled through companies and proxies before being used to acquire the assets.

The anti-graft agency maintained that the properties were reasonably suspected to have been purchased with proceeds of unlawful activities.

Dissatisfied with the judgement, Atewe approached the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn the forfeiture order.

However, the appellate court, led by Justice Boloukuromo Ugo, resolved all three issues raised in the appeal in favour of the EFCC.

The court held that the forfeiture proceedings were civil in nature and directed against the assets rather than the person of the appellant, making them independent of the pending criminal trial.

It further ruled that Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act and the Supreme Court’s decision in General Jafaru Mohammed v. EFCC, relied upon by Atewe, were not applicable because the appellant is a retired military officer, unlike the officer involved in the earlier case.

The Court of Appeal also held that Atewe failed to provide credible evidence showing that the assets were lawfully acquired, noting that his claims of receiving unspecified honoraria were unsupported by documentary proof linking such payments to the acquisition of the properties.

Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court, leaving the forfeiture order in favour of the Federal Government intact.