The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of N150 million linked to a serving member of the House of Representatives, Nicholas Mutu, to the Federal Government.
Justice J.O. Abdulmalik granted the order after upholding an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which argued that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The anti-graft agency said the application was brought under Section 44 ,2, of the 1999 Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
The court had earlier issued an interim forfeiture order and directed its publication in a national newspaper to allow any interested parties to contest the action. However, no sufficient cause was shown to prevent the final forfeiture.
According to the EFCC, investigations revealed that Mutu allegedly received kickbacks totaling more than N400 million from an NDDC consultant, Starline Consultancy Services, while serving as Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
The commission alleged that the funds were laundered through the bank accounts of two companies linked to the lawmaker, Airworld Technologies Limited and Oyien Homes Limited, where he and members of his immediate family are shareholders and directors.
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The EFCC further alleged that the consultant sought the committee’s intervention to recover debts owed to the NDDC by oil and gas companies, after which more than N100 billion was recovered for the commission.
It claimed that Mutu’s companies subsequently received part of the consultant’s fees as kickbacks and that, during the investigation, a subcontract agreement was allegedly created to disguise the payments as legitimate business transactions.
The anti-graft agency said the consultant later admitted that the subcontract was merely a cover and that no work had been carried out by Mutu’s companies.
The EFCC also told the court that Mutu refunded N150 million during the investigation but later claimed he did not do so voluntarily and maintained that the payments were lawful.
In his ruling, Justice Abdulmalik held that the N150 million constituted proceeds of unlawful activities and ordered its final forfeiture to the Federal Government.
The EFCC noted that it has appealed against an earlier judgment that discharged and acquitted Mutu in a related money laundering trial based on the same facts and evidence.
TVC NEWS
