EFCC Reveals Reason For Hiding Ownership Details of Seized 753 Duplexes

By Miracle Ogunde

Following reactions trailing the identity of the owner of the seized 753 duplexes in Abuja, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has
revealed why it concealed the identity of the property owner(s).

The agency, said its decision follows legal procedures, while describing the backlash received from some members of the public as “tantrums” and “unacceptable”.

The agency, on Monday said it had seized the duplexes and other properties in an estate in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

It did not, however, reveal the identity of the owners, prompting backlash from Nigerians.

The agency’s Head of Media & Publicity Dele Oyewale said in a Tuesday statement, said, “The commentaries of reform-minded Nigerians to the Commission’s painstaking efforts in securing the final forfeiture of the Estate to the Federal Government of Nigeria, are appreciated. However, the denigration of such efforts by Omowole Sowore and his think-same and act-same is unacceptable and grossly un-charitable,”

“The allegation of cover-up of the identity of the promoters of the Estate stands logic on the head in the sense that the proceedings for the forfeiture of the Estate were in line with Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act which is a civil proceeding that allows for action-in-rem rather than action-in-personam. The former allows legal actions against a property and not an individual, especially in a situation of an unclaimed property. This Act allows you to take up a forfeiture proceeding against a chattel that is not a juristic person. This is exactly what the Commission did in respect of the Estate.

“The proceedings that yielded the final forfeiture of the Estate were products of actionable intelligence available to the Commission. The company flagged by our investigations denied ownership of the Estate following publications made in leading national newspapers. On the basis of this, the Commission approached the court for an order of final forfeiture which Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court granted on Monday, December 2, 2024.”