Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of a Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of 245,568,137 shares, valued at over N5 billion, linked to Major General Umar Mohammed, former Group Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), and a business – man, Kayode Oladipupo Filani, to the Federal Government.

The order was sequel to the granting of a motion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which alleged that the shares were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities during Mohammed’s tenure as Head of the Army’s property company.

During yesterday’s proceedings, EFCC’s lawyer, Hanatu Kofanaisa, informed the court that a Special Court Martial had already convicted Mohammed on 14 of the 18 counts bordering on stealing and related offences. She argued that the anti-graft agency had equally met all requirements for the interim forfeiture order, including publication in a national daily, and noted that no objection had been filed against the motion.

After reviewing the motion, Justice Dipeolu held that it was meritorious and ordered that the shares be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government, for the benefit of Nigerian Army Properties Limited. The judge ruled that since the statutory conditions for final forfeiture has been satisfied and no opposition was raised, the motion must succeed.

The motion was brought pursuant to Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006. The ruling comes after the EFCC had earlier secured the forfeiture of five property also linked to Mohammed, following his conviction by a military court martial.