Court to rule on final forfeiture of Patience Jonathan’s $5.8m, N2.4bn on March 28

The Federal High Court in Lagos, on Wednesday, set March 28, 2023, as the set date for the hearing on an application seeking the final forfeiture of $5.8 million and N2,421,953,522.78 billion, which is reportedly owned by former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

Justice Tijjani Ringim set the date after deciding on the claims made by the attorneys for the parties to the lawsuit.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed an ex parte application for the interim forfeiture of the aforementioned sums on April 26, 2017, and Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, who is now retired, granted it.

The judge also ordered that the said amount warehoused by the defunct Skye Bank (now Polaris) and Ecobank Nigeria Plc, be forfeited in the interim.

The order was vehemently contested all the way to the Supreme Court, but the high court ruled that the lower court should continue hearing the case.

The case was given to Justice (Professor) Chuka Obiozor after Justice Olatoregun retired.

But before Justice Obiozor could take charge of the case, he was moved to another area of the court, and as a result, Justice Ringim took over the case.

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During the resumed hearing on Wednesday, La Wari Furniture and Baths Limited’s attorney, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), revealed to the court that his client has two ongoing applications at the time.

The two requests sought to halt the lawsuit’s proceedings due to an appeal that was underway and to reopen the case (afresh).

Additionally, Mr. Sammie A. Somiari, the former first lady Patience Jonathan’s attorney, sided with Ozekhome’s proposal.

Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the attorney for the EFCC, contested the motions, claiming that the court’s business for the day was to consider requests for the money’s final forfeiture.

After hearing arguments from counsel, Justice Ringim agreed with the EFCC‘s legal grounds.

As a result, with the consent of the attorneys, Justice Ringim slated the hearing on the application for full seizure of the money until March 28.

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