The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the appeal brought before it by the former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Andrew Yakubu, challenging the order for the forfeiture of the sum of $9.7m, £74,000 allegedly seized from one of his properties.
In the appeal marked SC/639/2018, counsel to the former GMD of NNPC, Ahmed Raji (SAN), informed the court that he had filed a notice to discontinue with the appeal on July 14.
Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Muhammed Abubakar, was not opposed to the application for withdrawal and urged the court to grant an order of dismissal.
The apex court, in a five-man panel that was presided over by Justice Mary Odili, dismissed the appeal based on the notice of discontinuance.
It had earlier been reported that the Kaduna State Division of the Court of Appeal in April 2018 had 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 a former GMD of NNPC.
The EFCC operatives had stormed a house allegedly belonging to the former NNPC boss and found the sum of $9,772,800 and another £74,000 stashed in a fireproof safe.
The money, according to Yakubu, was given to him as gifts by well-wishers. However, the EFCC had suspected that the money was proceeds of crime and it prompted the agency to secure an order of interim forfeiture from the Federal High Court.
Yakubu, through his counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), approached the Federal High Court in Kano, asking the court to revoke the order.
The Federal High Court, which was presided over by Justice Z. B. Abubakar on May 10, 2017, dismissed the application of Yakubu and affirmed the order of interim forfeiture it granted on February 13, 2017.
Andrew Yakubu is currently standing trial before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court Abuja on six counts bordering on fraud for allegedly owning over $9.8m cash found in a house which also belongs to him in Kaduna State.
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