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Court grants EFCC’s request for interim forfeiture of N30.7m linked to alleged fraud in NNPC
A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order granting an interim forfeiture of of N30,700, 000.00 the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) claimed was associated with an alleged fraud perpetrated by some senior officiala of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Justice Emeka Nwite issued the order while ruling on an ex-parte motion, marked:FHC/ABJ/CS/2775/2025, filed by the EFCC and moved last Friday by its lawyer, Emenike Mgbemele.
Justice Nwite held, in the ruling, that having considered all the material evidence placed before the court by the applicant, the application was meritorious and ought to be granted.
The judge ordered the EFCC to publish the interim order of forfeiture in a national daily for interested persons to show cause, within 14 days, why the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
He then adjourned till January 22 for the EFCC to report its compliance with the order for publication.
The EFCC, in a supporting affidavit, said the funds are currently lodged in EFCC’s Recovery Account with United Bank for Africa (UBA) in account number: 9058700029 with manager’s cheque name: M/C Draft Outstanding Account, be forfeited to the Federal Government.
It stated, in a supporting affidavit, that the funds were discoverd while investigating allegations of fraudulent activities of some high profile officials of the NNPC as well as other criminal petitions brought to the commission.
The EFCC added: “In the cause of investigation and analysing some of the documents received from the bank, the name of Mr. Adamu Yakubu, a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, featured prominently.
“On September 2, 2025, Mr. Yakubu, whose name featured in the cause of investigation, was invited and he volunteered his statement.
“Mr Yakubu submitted a ledger to the commission evidencing records of his transactions wherein the details of customers and the amount of dollars sold by them are recorded.
“Upon analysing the entering in the ledger submitted by Mr Yakubu, it was revealed that over N4, 000, 000, 000.00 (Four Billion Naira) was transferred to the accounts of different individuals and companies on the instruction of one Mr. Ibrahim Sani, a staff of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).
“It was discovered that the balance of N30.7 million sought to be forfeited was still in possession of Yakubu from the funds which he claimed was given to him by Mr Ibrahim Sani.
“On the 15th day of September 2025, Mr. Ibrahim Sani, a staff of FIRS, whose name appeared on the ledger and who Mr Yakubu claimed owned the N30, 700, OOO (Thirty Million, Seven Hundred Thousand Naira Only) was invited and he volunteered his statement.
“Mr. Ibrahim Sani gave statement on how he had been using Yakubu, the BDC operator, to be sending monies to different individuals and companies.
“Mr.Ibrahim equally confirmed how he usually deposit huge amount of money (Dollars) with Mr Yakubu who in turn sends its naira equivalent to individuals and companies accounts provided by him.
“Mr. Ibrahim neither ascertained nor verified the source of these monies, which he has been depositing with Mr. Yakubu for onward transfer to other people, which are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
“Mr. Ibrahim, however, denied ownership of the N30.7 million found in Yakubu’s account as at the time of making his statement.”
The EFCC further stated that Ibrahim claimed that Yakubu was not holding any of his money as at September 15, 2025.
It added that Yakubu and Ibrahim denied ownership of the said N30.7 million found in the account of the former (Yakubu).
The EFCC stated Mr. Yakubu has since raised four different managers’ cheques in the name of the EFCC Recovery Account in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
It added that the source of the funds sought to be forfeited in the account of Mr. Yakubu “is proceeds of unlawful activities.”
Terrorists have killed three soldiers in a fresh attack on a military camp in Kemanji community, Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The attack reportedly occurred in the early hours of Monday, with residents saying heavy gunfire echoed across the area during the invasion.
According to local sources, the assailants, suspected to be armed terrorists, stormed the military camp without warning and engaged troops in a fierce gun battle.
The confrontation left three soldiers dead, while other personnel were said to have responded with a reprisal attack to repel the assailants.
One resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the incident as sudden and violent, noting that the attackers took advantage of the early morning hours when some soldiers were asleep.
“Kemanji is a border community close to thick forest areas.
“Few of the soldiers were asleep around 3am when the terrorists invaded their camp and killed three of them before others responded,” the source said. (The Sun)
Prominent activist, Aisha Yesufu, has expressed concern over the ongoing teachers’ strike in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), calling on the minister, Nyesom Wike, to urgently intervene and resolve the crisis.
In a statement on Monday, Yesufu lamented the prolonged closure of public primary schools across the FCT, noting that the situation continues to disrupt the education of thousands of children.
She stressed that education remains a fundamental right and should not be treated with negligence, urging authorities to prioritise the welfare of both teachers and students.
“The continuous strike by teachers in the FCT is unacceptable. Our children cannot keep paying the price for unresolved issues,” she said.
The activist appealed directly to Wike to take decisive steps towards addressing the grievances of the striking teachers, including issues surrounding unpaid salaries and poor working conditions.
According to her, swift intervention by the FCT administration would not only restore academic activities but also rebuild confidence in the public education system.
The strike, which has lingered for weeks, has left many pupils at home, raising concerns among parents over the long term impact on learning.
Malam Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna, has alerted the public to what he called “certain malicious orchestrations” directed against him.
El-Rufai, in a statement signed and released on Sunday by Muyiwa Adekeye, his Media Adviser, said the unwarranted effort to arrest him upon his arrival at Abuja Airport from Cairo on 12 February 2026 served as a clear signal of more troubling developments to follow.
The evident objective of the current scheme, according to the statement, is to secure his indefinite detention through reprehensible tactics, stressing that such conduct is unacceptable, particularly toward a citizen who has made substantial contributions to our country.
He, however, said that the rule of law must never be perverted into a tool of oppression and legal processes should serve the ends of justice, not be employed to deny a citizen his fundamental right to liberty while he stands trial.
The statement stressed that Malam El-Rufai should be accorded full due process guaranteed by law to every citizen, and the persistent disregard for his rights must cease immediately.
The statement recalled that since 16 February 2026, when Malam El-Rufai honoured an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), he was detained, then transferred to the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the night of 18 February.
It said the former governor remains in detention and has been arraigned in two separate high courts.
The statement, however, picked holes in a report headlined “El-Rufai’s trial: Gunmen invade principal witness home” published by a national newspaper, not Nigerian Tribune, on 18 April 2026.
It quoted the article as stating that a witness in the criminal proceedings at the Kaduna State High Court had reported to the police that armed individuals had invaded his residence.
The statement added that the paper included innuendos suggestive of a plot to frame Malam Nasir El-Rufai as the witness linked the incident to his role as a witness in the corruption charges against El-Rufai, specifically one of the nine counts involving the alleged unlawful revocation and reallocation of land.
The article, the statement added, further quoted the witness as alleging that the invasion might be part of an effort to silence him, drawing parallels with the controversial disappearance of Kaduna-based activist Abubakar Idris Dadiyata.
The statement said that while it is the civic duty of every citizen to report crimes to the authorities, it is an entirely different matter to publish false imputations against others.
It said any objective reader would recognise the clear intent behind these statements: to smear Malam Nasir El-Rufai’s reputation, jeopardise his pending bail application at the Kaduna State High Court, and implicate him in serious capital offences.
Part of the statement read, “Malam Nasir El-Rufai is an upstanding and law-abiding citizen who has no connection whatsoever to the incidents described in the publication. Therefore, he has already instructed his legal team to initiate defamation proceedings in this matter.
“Since 2023, Malam El-Rufai has been subjected to an appalling and sustained campaign of innuendos and vilification.
This is a man with a distinguished record of public service. Many will recall his sterling service to the cause of national unity through his principled opposition to opportunism, alongside other senior leaders, during the events leading to the 2022 primaries of the ruling party and thereafter.“
Just in: Terrorists invade military camp, k!ll three soldiers in Kwara
Aisha Yesufu faults FCT teachers’ strike, wants Wike to intervene
El-Rufai issues public alert in prison
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