There is more trouble for the immediate past Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, as a Federal Capital Territory High Court ordered the interim forfeiture of monies and properties recovered from him.
The assets of Mr Idris forfeited temporarily to the government include the sums of $899,900 and N304,490,160.95, according to top sources at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The source also disclosed that 15 properties in Kano and Abuja were listed to be forfeited.
NIGERIACRIME reported that the EFCC is prosecuting Idris and other co-defendants, Godfrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited, over alleged N109 billion fraud at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in Maitama, Abuja.
They face 14 charges of stealing and criminal breach of trust involving N109 billion in public funds.
In spite of the allegations against them, Justice J.O Adeyemi-Ajayi, on July 28 ruled that they were entitled to bail.
The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwajaren, disclosed that a judge of the FCT High Court, M.A Hassan, made the order of interim forfeiture of a batch of the assets of Mr Idris in a ruling delivered on 13 December on a motion exparte filed by the EFCC.
The EFCC, in the motion marked M/1149/2022, prayed the court for “an order of interim attachment/ forfeiture of the properties in the Schedule to the application, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case in Charge No. FCT/ HC/CR/299/2022, Federal Republic of Nigeria V. Ahmed Idris and Others.”
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In the supporting affidavit to the application deposed to by an operative of the EFCC, Monyei Ekene, the commission had requested the court to grant among others, an order approving the interim “management of the assets and properties in the schedule to this application to the applicant” pending the determination of the substantive case.
The EFCC statement read, “Justice Hassan granted the motion as prayed but further ordered that the recovery account sought to be opened by the applicant shall be in the name of the commission as a recovery account and the details of the account shall be reported back to the court within one week of opening.”
The properties linked to Idris which were listed in the schedule for forfeiture include Kano City Mall/Al Ikhlas Shopping Mall at Mandwawarti, Kano; a one-storey Shopping Complex at Ladanai, Kano; Corner Shops at Ladanai, Kano; a duplex at Karsana, Abuja; Royal Duplex at Deneji Quarters, Kano and a Duplex at Plot 271, New Jersey Street, Efab Blue Fountain Estate, Abuja.
Nine properties linked to the second respondent, Mohammed Usman, which are located in Abuja, Niger, and Nasarawa States, were also ordered forfeited in the interim.
They include plots of land with shops in Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State, 37 hectares of farmland with livestock located along Minna-Bida Road in Niger State, Bungalow flats at Gwarimpa, Abuja, Bungalow Buildings at Masaka, Nasarawa State, plots of land at Dutse Alhaji Abuja and 13 plots of land at Integrated City, Minna, Niger State.