Politics
S’Court postpones Patience Jonathan’s hope of reclaiming assets seized by EFCC
Hope of wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, reclaiming her assets seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Supreme Court was on Wednesday lingered.
The apex court on Wednesday adjourned till March 8, to deliver judgment in her appeal challenging the powers of the EFCC to seize funds in bank accounts that were linked to her.
She had run to the Supreme Court urging it to set-aside, a ruling of the Federal High Court in Lagos on May 8, which granted EFCC interim ownership of N9.2 billion and $8.4 million that were allegedly traced to her accounts.
The former First Lady, among other things is asking the apex court in her appeal to determine whether section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other related offences Act, 2006, which permits the EFCC to seize assets that are suspected to have been unlawfully acquired, is not in conflict with provisions of the 1999 constitution that guarantees the presumption of innocence of accused persons.
Counsel to Patience Jonathan, Kehinde Adedipe (SAN), argued before the Supreme that section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act gave EFCC the nod to approach a court to seize assets it considered “suspicious”, without notifying the owner.
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According to him, section 6 of the Act provided that seizure and forfeiture of such assets must not be based on conviction for any crime.
He contended that the Court of Appeal in Lagos was wrong to have upheld the interim forfeiture order the EFCC secured against her client, on the grounds that Mrs Jonathan was at liberty to apply and adduce reasons why it should be set-aside.
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