Court orders forfeiture of N510m belonging to ex-Air Chief

Justice A.R. Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the interim forfeiture of N510 million belonging to former Vice Air Marshal, Uko Etim Obong.

The court gave the order while ruling in an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the former Air Chief.

A statement on Tuesday by the anti-graft agency’s Head, Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale said the order was secured on Monday, May 11, 2020.

“The commission’s application for interim forfeiture was pursuant to Section 44 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.

“EFCC’s intelligence scooped the money stashed in Sterling Bank and discreet investigation revealed it was a proceed of unlawful activities, traced to AVM Obong.

“It could be recalled that AVM Obong was the Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet between 2013 and 2015, and allegedly enriched himself corruptly while serving in that capacity,” Oyewale said.

The former Air Chief was alleged to have used some of his cronies and companies, such as Magnificent 5 Ventures Ltd; Tripple Kay Company Nigeria Ltd, and Elionenai International College, as conduits to drain public funds while concealing his identity.

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Justice Mohammed, thereafter, granted the prayers of the EFCC and ordered the interim forfeiture of the said sum and adjourned the matter to May 26, 2020 for hearing.

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