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EFCC gives reason for hiding identity of recovered Abuja estate owner
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has given the reason for concealing the identity of the owner of a recently recovered estate in Abuja.
The Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court had on Monday ordered the final forfeiture of 753 units of duplexes and other apartments in Abuja to the Federal Government.
The final forfeiture of the estate measuring 150,500 square metres on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, is regarded as EFCC’s single largest recovery to date.
The commission was however silent on the identity of the property owner.
The anti-graft agency’s decision to hold back information on the owner of the property owner has attracted angry reactions in the country.
But in a statement issued on Tuesday, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the commission’s actions were guided by the legal framework governing forfeiture proceedings.
READ ALSO: EFCC records historic asset recovery as ex-govt official forfeits 753 duplexes in Abuja
He added that the forfeiture of the estate followed civil proceedings under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act.
Oyewale said a company initially mentioned as the likely owner denied any links to the property after public notices were published in leading national newspapers.
The spokesman said: “The allegation of a 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 latter 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 who is not a juristic person. This is exactly what the Commission did in respect of the Estate. Individual in situations of unclaimed assets.”
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