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Ikoyi Flat Forfeiture: Where has Union Bank been?

Union Bank has claimed ownership of the property which housed the looted funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), following an intelligence gathered from a ‘whistle-blower’.

There is concern as to where the Bank has been all these while and why it never claimed ownership before now.

The funds discovered by the EFCC ($43,449,947, £27,800 and N23, 218,000) were forfeited to the Federal Government on the order of Justice Muslim Hassan.

In November 9, 2017, the Commission obtained an interim order temporarily forfeiting the building to the Federal Government on the order of Justice Saliu Saidu.

However, Justice Saidu gave two weeks to any party interested in the property, to appear before him, to give reasons why the flat should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

When the case was called on Thursday, November 30 2017, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ajibola A. Aribisala, appeared before a Federal High Court in Lagos on behalf of Union Bank, claiming ownership of the property.

Aribisala said he had, on behalf of Union Bank, filed an application seeking the lifting of the interim forfeiture order of Flat 7B, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos to the Federal Government.

In an affidavit he filed in support of the application, Alfred Olukayode Edun, claimed the building known as 16, Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, had been acquired by Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu (former Bauchi State Governor), by virtue of a Certificate of Occupancy dated September 27, 2009 and registered as 97/97/2009 in the Lands Registry Office, Alausa, Lagos.

The Bank said Mu’azu, who was also a former PDP National Working Committee Chairman, had mortgaged the entire property to it, by virtue of a Tripartite Deed of Legal Mortgage dated November 1 2011, in order to secure a loan granted to his Company, ‘Tripple A Properties & Investment Ltd’.

Union Bank claimed the original title deed of the property had been vested in it, while the loan is yet to be liquidated till date, despite the fact that its tenor has expired.

The Bank further claimed it sold the property to Chobe Ventures Ltd to liquidate the loan.

In a counter affidavit to the application filed by Union Bank, EFCC argued that the Bank lacks the ‘locus standi’ to challenge the forfeiture of a property “reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities of Ambassador Ayo Oke and Mrs. Folashade Oke”.

Justice Saidu adjourned the case till January 12, 2018 to entertain pending applications.

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