ICPC recovers $.9m ‘stolen’ by court staff

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it has recovered the sum of $919,202.07 kept in an interest yielding account by some staff of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt the sum has been finally forfeited to the Federal Government.

The Commission disclosed this in a statement on Thursday by its Spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, adding that the money was recovered from three Respondents that included the Chief Registrar and Deputy Registrar of the High Court, as well from a branch of a bank in Port Harcourt.

The statement reads in part: “In the course of investigating a petition written against some officials of the court for alleged violation of ICPC Act 2000, the Commission’s special investigation team uncovered the money, being the sum of confiscated, value and sold vessel hidden in a bank account.

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“To allow any interested persons show cause why the money should not be forfeited finally to the federal government, ICPC immediately filed an ex-parte motion for an Interim Order of Forfeiture in November 2020.

“While ruling on the Interim Order of Forfeiture, Justice Mohammed Sani of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt granted the Commission’s prayers for interim forfeiture of the sum pending the final hearing of the case.

“In his ruling on the Motion on Notice for the final forfeiture of the money, Justice Sani held that he was satisfied that ICPC had placed sufficient evidence before the Court to justify a final forfeiture of the contentious money.

“He therefore ordered the bank in Port-Harcourt to immediately pay the money into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account as the money in question rightly belonged to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

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