A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, on Thursday, ordered the final forfeiture of a plaza valued at N150 million belonging to a civil servant in Kwara State, Rasaq Momonu to the Federal Government.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC), Ilorin Zonal Office had approached the Court to give an order of final forfeiture of Asmau Plaza situated in University Road, Tanke Area of Ilorin after a reasonable suspicion that the said property was acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity.

Delivering the Judgment in the case of Thursday, Justice Sikiru Oyinloye held that the EFCC had fulfilled all the requirements of the law in the suit and thereby ordered that the said property should be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“I have gone through the application brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, I also sighted the hearing notice issued to the respondent in the suit, Rasaq Momonu. This Honourable Court is persuaded that he had been served with the Court Processes.

The application brought by the EFCC is meritorious and granted. This Honourable Court hereby order the final forfeiture of the Landed property known as Asmau Plaza, Tanke Road, Ilorin, Kwara State to the Federal Government of Nigeria”

In the affidavit deposed to by Musa Gidado, an investigating officer with the EFCC, he urged the judge to order the final forfeiture of the Plaza which is suspected to be a proceed of unlawful activity.

“Investigations revealed that Rasaq Momonu used his influence as an Accountant with Kwara State Government to inflate and award contracts for the construction of two classrooms at Ogbondoroko and Obanisuwa Community In Kwara State.

“Investigations further revealed that the respondent who is a Civil Servant that earns less than N100,000 in a month cannot afford to build the house known as Asmau Plaza between 2010 -2012m.

“That I know as a fact that the respondent was confronted with the above findings by the applicant which he did not dispute and has agreed to forfeit the property known as Asmau Plaza to the Federal Government of Nigeria”, he said.

Moving the application for final forfeiture on Thursday, Counsel to the Applicant, Nnaemeka Omewa, urged the court to grant the order based on the provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.

“My Lord, We have a motion on notice dated 19th July 2019 and filed on the same day, the motion is brought pursuant to section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud-related Offences, I urged the Court to grant the motion.

Justice Oyinloye, however, granted the application and resolved all the issues raised in favour of the EFCC.

https://tribuneonlineng.com/231012/amp/

Well, personally, I think this is wrong.

Yes, he was an accountant but the assumption that he influenced inflation of contract for personal gain remains an assumption and that shouldn't be an evidence against him.

Civil servant? Maybe he has another business

Government workers are not expected to have another work or business. So, if he does and he admits to it, he may be shooting himself on the foot.
Meanwhile, it would appear that he was smart enough to have relinquished the asset.

GideonOludayomi:
Government workers are not expected to have another work or business. So, if he does and he admits to it, he may be shooting himself on the foot.
Meanwhile, it would appear that he was smart enough to have relinquished the asset.

Emboldened not true.

Civil servants are allowed to engage in businesses like agriculture, buying of shares from the stock market etc.

Someone cannot build a plaza in peace again.?

Simplyleo:

Emboldened not true.

Civil servants are allowed to engage in businesses like agriculture, buying of shares from the stock market etc.

Ooh, OK
I will find out more, though I know about that of agriculture.
Thank you.

Ok

In addition, the civil servant should be flogged 50 million lashes of koboko laden with chilly pepper and sentenced to 6 years in prison, case closed

lol

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Na him, a proud skull miner with professional degree in fraud

Ordinary 150 million?


Shiooooor

Perhaps he couldn't prove that he had another legit source of income that could enable him afford such an asset while being in the civil service.

Simplyleo:
Well, personally, I think this is wrong.

Yes, he was an accountant but the assumption that he influenced inflation of contract for personal gain remains an assumption and that shouldn't be an evidence against him.

Even when the accused himself has agreed to let go his illicit property?

aanuoluwami14:
Civil servant? Maybe he has another business

Then he should've stated it!
He's a theif and I'm 100% in support of this ruling!

Simplyleo:

Emboldened not true.

Civil servants are allowed to engage in businesses like agriculture, buying of shares from the stock market etc.

"The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji has called on civil servants to adhere strictly to the provisions of the law which forbids public officers from engaging in private practice. In a circular signed by Tope Ajakaiye, Director of Communications and titled “Code of Conduct for Public Officers” sent to all Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government, the Head of Service reiterated the observation made at the 37th meeting of the National Council on Establishments that “some public servants engage in private practice to the detriments of the services they were employed to render to the public.” In the circular, the Head of Service also drew the attention of all public officers to Part I, Fifth Schedule, Section of 2 (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides that “without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, a public officer shall not, except where he is not employed on full-time basis engage or participate in the management or running of any private business, profession or trade, but nothing in this sub-paragraph shall prevent a public officer from engaging in farming.” According to the Head of Service, failure to comply with this directive by civil servants would not only be regarded as an unconstitutional act, but also an act of misconduct under the Public Service Rules."

Source: www.vanguardngr.com/2013/06/you-cant-engage-in-private-practice-hos-warns-civil-servants/

Till today, I have not seen any issuance encouraging civil servants to engage in private business. Even the practice of farming is limited to subsistent and not commercial. By commercial, I mean to the extent of registering a business name and opening a business account.

I thought it should go to Kwara State Government and not FGN.

What if collected his fathers' gratuities and he sold the houses his parents had in lekki, surulere and Ikeja

manitoba:
I thought it should go to Kwara State Government and not FGN.

Kwara state government will need to file an application for that.

Simplyleo:
Well, personally, I think this is wrong.

Yes, he was an accountant but the assumption that he influenced inflation of contract for personal gain remains an assumption and that shouldn't be an evidence against him.

Did u read the writeup,i suggest u go back and read carefully this time

Simplyleo:
Well, personally, I think this is wrong.

Yes, he was an accountant but the assumption that he influenced inflation of contract for personal gain remains an assumption and that shouldn't be an evidence against him.

how do you reason? a civil servant with salary around 100k a month owns property worth 150M and you wanna justify that? Your reasoning must be above all Nigerians just like the owner of the property.

It should become the property of Kwara State government.

Simplyleo:
Well, personally, I think this is wrong.

Yes, he was an accountant but the assumption that he influenced inflation of contract for personal gain remains an assumption and that shouldn't be an evidence against him.

Well, he had opportunity to tell and convince the judge how he raised the money to establish the plaza, I guess he failed to do that. Ibori was jailed in UK because he couldn't convince the court how he came about the wealth that was far above his legitimate income. In fact, he voluntarily entered into plea bargain to get a reduced sentence.

Simplyleo:
Well, personally, I think this is wrong.

Yes, he was an accountant but the assumption that he influenced inflation of contract for personal gain remains an assumption and that shouldn't be an evidence against him.

Meaning you will do the same if in his position, this is how they keep stealing from the masses, they will be the first to be condemning/complaining of others, meanwhile they are worst.
Poverty is really a disease

To the federal government a property is forefeited from a state government worker..... Did he loot FG s money or Kwara state money?

Ok

Pulsenaija:
lol

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There are better boobs in porn sites. So shift