The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, ordered the final forfeiture of 246,305,544 shares valued at N5 billion that were linked to former Major-General U.M. Mohammed (retd.), who served as the Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL).
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu delivered the ruling following a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on its official X account. The forfeiture is a result of an ongoing investigation by the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, which began after a petition alleged large-scale fraud by Mohammed during his tenure as MD between 2015 and 2020.
Earlier, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke had ordered the interim forfeiture of the shares and instructed their publication in a national newspaper, allowing interested parties the chance to contest the decision. However, the final ruling on Tuesday confirmed that the shares would be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The EFCC’s investigation, led by officer Nwike Fortune, uncovered that Mohammed had fraudulently sold company properties and misappropriated the proceeds for his personal gain. As part of his efforts to conceal the stolen funds, he invested in shares of Awhua Resources Limited. These shares included investments in companies such as National Aviation Handling Company (N115,567,906), Oando Plc (N2,000,000), Dangote Sugar Refinery (N1,000,000), Vitafoam Nigeria Plc (N81,901,651), and University Press (N40,155,291).
EFCC’s lawyer, Kofarnaisa, argued that it was in the interest of justice to permanently forfeit the shares, as they were purchased with funds suspected to have been derived from illegal activities. Justice Dipeolu agreed with this argument, stating that the evidence presented merited the forfeiture of the assets.
