The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered an interim forfeiture of two properties linked to Patience Jonthan, immediate former First Lady, to the Federal Government.
The properties are at Plot No. 1960, Cadastral Zone A05, Maitama District; and Plot No. 1350, Cadastral Zone A00, both in Abuja. They were said to have been purchased in the name of Ariwabai Aruera Reachout Foundation and Patience listed as one of its trustees.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, on Monday, dismissed Patience’s objection to an application filed last September by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, seeking the interim forfeiture of the assets because they are under investigation. He ruled that the interim forfeiture will last for 45 days during which the anti-graft agency must conclude its investigation.
He however added that the EFCC could file an application for the extension of the life span of the order before the expiration of the initial 45 days. Justice Dimgba also said that if the commission needed to access the properties during the stated period, it must do so with the respondents in attendance. He ordered that the inventory of the fixtures in the properties and a report to that effect be submitted to the court.
