Ebun Francis
A federal high court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Abdulaziz Anka on Tuesday ordered the temporary forfeiture of N75 million in the account of Mike Ozekhome, a senior advocate of Nigeria, domiciled with Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).
The Judge gave the order while ruling on a motion ex-parte filed by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), asking the court to freeze the account on the ground that the amount deposited in the said account on December 15, 2016, is suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Arguing the application, counsel to the EFCC, Idris Mohammed, informed the court that the application was brought pursuant to section 29 of the EFCC Act.
The EFCC counsel informed the court that three exhibits marked 01, 02 and 03 were attached to the motion ex-parte, with an affidavit of urgency, sworn to by an investigator of the agency, Tosin Owobo.
Mohammed, therefore, urged the court to grant the motion ex-parte and order a temporary forfeiture of funds in the account for 120 days.
Delivering a bench ruling on the motion, Anka ordered that Ozekhome’s account with the sum of N75 million be forfeited for 120 days.
Mike Ozekhome is one of the lawyers who recently represented Governor Ayo Fayose, of Ekiti state in the earlier case with EFCC. He claims that the money in question was to cover part payment for his legal services
