Court orders permanent forfeiture of N3.4bn, assets tied to ex-NNPC official Jamari

A FEDERAL high court sitting in Abuja has directed the final forfeiture of N3.4 billion and three properties linked to alleged fraud involving a former Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Gas and Power Investment Company Limited, Mr Salihu Nuhu Jamari.

The ruling followed a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which was presented in court by its counsel, Martha Babatunde.

Among the forfeited assets are an uncompleted six-bedroom semi-detached duplex with a boys’ quarters in Asokoro, Abuja; a two-bedroom apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos; and a restaurant building located in Lokogoma, Abuja. The EFCC said all the properties were traced to Jamari.

According to the commission, the assets were proceeds of unlawful activities connected to three NNPCL projects: the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project, the Abuja Independent Power Project, and the Benin Gas Plant Project.

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The anti-graft agency further stated that Jamari exercised considerable influence over the projects during his tenure as managing director of the NNPC Gas and Power Investment Company Limited.

At the hearing, Jamari’s counsel, Ms Maryam Abba, informed the court that her client had submitted an affidavit of non-contestation, indicating he did not oppose the forfeiture request.

Babatunde also told the court that the EFCC complied with an earlier directive to publish a notice inviting interested parties to challenge the forfeiture. She noted that the notice was duly published, but no objections were received.

“We filed a written address as our oral submission in urging this honourable court to grant our application, the motion having been unopposed,” she said.

In delivering judgment, the presiding judge observed that the application was not contested by any interested party, including Jamari.

“Consequently, I grant the order for final forfeiture of the properties and the funds attached to the motion to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the judge ruled.

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The EFCC explained that the application was brought under section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, noting that the process constitutes a non-conviction-based asset forfeiture.

In a supporting affidavit, EFCC investigator, Mr Abdullahi Aminu, said the case originated from a petition alleging conspiracy, bribery, kickbacks, and money laundering involving NNPCL officials and contractors, with Jamari named among those implicated.