Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of a warehouse built on a 1.925-hectare property along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Magboro, Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State.

The court also ordered the final forfeiture of 54 general-purpose steel containers, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) claimed are linked to a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN,) Godwin Emefiele.

The Judge ordered that the assets be forfeited to the federal government after no individual or organisation came forward to claim them.

On November 28, 2024, the judge had granted an interim forfeiture of the assets, directing the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to appear before the court and show cause why the assets should not be finally forfeited.

However, at the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court that the commission had complied with the court’s directives.

Oyedepo also informed the court that the application for final forfeiture was made pursuant to Section 44(2)(B) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006, as well as the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

The lawyer urged the court to issue a final forfeiture order to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the properties listed in Schedule A, which includes the warehouse located at Km 8 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Magboro, and the 54 general-purpose steel containers, suspected to have been acquired through unlawful activities.

After reviewing the submissions of the anti-graft agency’s lawyer and the documents filed before the court, Justice Dipeolu granted the requested relief and ordered the final forfeiture of all the assets.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has declared the suspension of Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the 18 Local Government Areas, LGAS, in Edo State as illegal and unconstitutional.

The AGF, who spoke to journalists in Abuja yesterday, stressed that removing from office or suspending any elected LG official in the country is the prerogative of Councilors in the said LGA.

The Justice Minister said his position was based on the July 11 judgment of the Supreme Court that granted autonomy to the 774 LGAs in the country.

“One thing that I know and can say without fear is that under the present dispensation, no Governor has the right to remove any local government chairman.

“That much I know. If I did not know before, since July 11, 2024, I became aware that removal of any local government chairman or official would be the prerogative of that local government, through their legislative house,” the AGF stated.

However, he said his initial reluctance to react to the development was because he wanted to know the basis upon which the LGA officials in Edo state were reportedly suspended.

It will be recalled that the Edo State House of Assembly suspended the chairmen and vice chairmen of the LGAs for two months over their alleged gross misconduct and insubordination.

The Assembly directed the council leaders to hand over to the legislative leaders of their respective local governments.

The action followed a letter from Governor Monday Okpebholo, who accused the council officials of insubordination, alleging that they failed to submit their financial reports from September 23, 2022, to date, as directed.

The LGA officials had since rejected their purported suspension, even as they vowed to remain in office till the expiration of their tenure in 2026. Meanwhile, speaking about ongoing reforms in the justice sector, the AGF said the development and adoption of the 2024-2028 National Policy on Justice would help to address the challenges militating against the effective administration of justice in Nigeria.

He said the federal government would in line with its determination to decongest the prisons, continue to train judges on the need to embrace the award of non-custodial sentences like community service, as provided for in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015 and Nigerian Correctional Service Act, NCSA, 2019.

“The ACJA, 2015, seeks to reform the administration of criminal justice through the speedy dispensation of justice, protection of human rights, accountability, and oversight between and amongst criminal justice institutions.

“Since its enactment, the Ministry has been leading efforts to ensure its effective implementation to ensure citizens access justice and the protection of their rights.

“The Ministry, through various platforms, supported states to replicate the Act, through the adoption of their ACJL.

“Today, I am happy to report that the 36 states of the federation now have their states ACJLs, which, to a very large extent, replicates and further strengthen the provisions of the ACJA for effective implementation a the state level.

“The Justice Ministry is currently collaborating with the Ministry of Interior and Nigerian Correctional Service to conduct an audit of the Correctional Centres to ascertain the number of inmates, the condition of the correctional centres, the number and different categories of inmates in the correctional centres.

“The first phase of this audit conducted in 9 states and the FCT, took place between 21st – 25th November, 2024, and it is hoped that when concluded, the outcome will assist the federal government in initiating and implementing appropriate policies and programmes that will enhance effective management of the correctional service.

“While these achievements are commendable, we must remain focused on addressing existing challenges,” the AGF stated.

The Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has stated that some Nigerians rain curses on him and his family over the tax reform bills.

Oyedele spoke during an event for the presentation of the report of a technical committee set up by the League of Northern Democrats (LND) to review the controversial tax reform bills on Thursday in Abuja.

He however said he was not deterred by the vitriol as his assignment was a public service to bring economic change to the country.

Daily Trust reports that the tax reform bills have generated heated debates across the country, with the majority of the push backs coming from the North.

Many governors and some leaders from the region contested that the tax reform bills, which also led to open confrontations in both chambers of the National Assembly, were meant to favour Lagos State and other narrow interests, as well as to shortchange the North.

Oyedele stated that the recommendations made by his committee on tax reform were not influenced by anyone as it came through robust discussions and engagements to revolutionise the tax system in the country.

“Even on social media, you need to see the number of people cursing me and my family. I don’t take it personally. I just go through and say is there any useful comment that we can work on? We pick it and we work on it. It’s public service. You’re not meant to be appreciated and praised every time. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world.

“Public service is public service. You are accountable to the people and you must take that very seriously. So our approach to this is that some Nigerians were asked to do this for our country and I had the privilege of leading that team and we did our best but we’re not in any way suggesting that our best is the best for Nigeria.

“You cannot have more than 200 million people and you then assume that about 100 people are the smartest. You know that that would be arrogance at a different level. So this engagement helped us to even improve the quality of what we have done.

“I’ve said this in a number of fora and I’ll say it again. There’s not a single person in the world, not World Bank, not IMF, not United Nations, not Mr President, not any governor, not any minister, past or present, not president, past or present, no one dictated anything to us. Every single thing you see in all those bills were the outcome of debates by the committee that is representative nationally.

“We have people from all the geo-political zones. We have more than 20 government institutions. We have all manner of engagement, including with people with disability. But we know that engagements will never end. In fact, if the bills are passed, it doesn’t mean that we should stop engaging. We should continue.”

While reiterating that there are no perfect laws even when they have been enacted, he said engagements would give feedback on how it’s been implemented and the areas needed to further improve on.

“So, I’m eagerly looking forward to the outcome of this event today and I can give you one assurance. Every single point you send to us will be carefully considered and we’ll get back to you with our own explanations. So once we have superior reasoning and superior arguments, we bow to it very quickly because we have no agenda other than the agenda for Nigeria,” he added.