Appeal Court Upholds Forfeiture of Ex-General’s MTN Shares, Abuja Land

The ruling affirmed the judgment delivered on May 5, 2023, by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, who granted the EFCC's application for the final forfeiture of the assets after finding that Atewe had failed to satisfactorily explain their lawful acquisition.

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld the final forfeiture of multiple assets linked to retired Major General Emmanuel Atewe, including 30,000 MTN shares and several parcels of land in Abuja, ruling that they should remain in the custody of the Federal Government.

In a unanimous judgment delivered virtually on Wednesday, a three-member panel of the appellate court dismissed Atewe’s appeal against the May 2023 decision of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) a final forfeiture order over the assets.

Atewe, a former commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta, had challenged the lower court’s ruling, arguing that the forfeiture proceedings amounted to an abuse of court process because he is facing a separate criminal trial over related allegations.

However, the appellate court, led by Justice Boloukuromo Ugo, rejected the argument, holding that the forfeiture proceedings were civil in nature and directed at the assets, not the appellant.

The court also ruled that Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act and the Supreme Court decision in General Jafaru Muhammed v. EFCC, relied upon by Atewe, did not apply to his case because Atewe is a retired, not a serving, military officer.

The appellate court further held that Atewe failed to provide credible evidence establishing the legitimate source of the assets, noting that his explanation, which referred to unspecified honoraria, did not sufficiently demonstrate how the funds were used to acquire the properties.

The ruling affirmed the judgment delivered on May 5, 2023, by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, who granted the EFCC's application for the final forfeiture of the assets after finding that Atewe had failed to satisfactorily explain their lawful acquisition.

The forfeited assets include N3.97 million in cash, 30,000 MTN shares managed by Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, multiple plots of land in Abuja's Jahi, Kuje, Sabon Lugbe and Outer Northern Expressway districts, a 50-hectare farmland in Kuje, and a parcel of land in Yenagoa Gardens, Bayelsa State.

The EFCC had told the court that its investigation into the alleged diversion of more than N8.5 billion belonging to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) through the JTF Operation Pulo Shield uncovered a network of companies and proxies allegedly used to channel the funds into the acquisition of the assets.

According to the anti-graft agency, the properties were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities, a position now affirmed by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.