Muiz Tijani Adeyinka, a former official of First Bank of Nigeria has forfeited the sum of N1,168,602,877.44; $392,818.01 and £35,070 recovered from him to the Federal Government.
Justice A. O. Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, ordered the final forfeiture of the monies on Tuesday.
The judge gave the order following a motion on notice for the final forfeiture which was supported with an affidavit deposed to by Isah Yusuf Nadabo, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Justice Owoeye had, on November 27, 2024, ordered the interim forfeiture of the funds and also ordered the publication of the order in a national newspaper for any interested party to show cause why the sums of money should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
Moving the application for the final forfeiture counsel to the EFCC, Zeenat Atiku, stated that “The Commission, on March 26, 2024, received a petition from First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) alleging fraudulent transactions in various bank accounts within and outside First Bank of Nigeria Plc.
According to Atiku, Muiz Tijani Adeyinka manipulated the settlement accounts by creating fictitious domiciliary inflows, with which he immediately transferred the Naira equivalent to himself and his cronies.
After listening to the EFCC’s counsel, Justice Owoeye granted the application as prayed and held that after examining the affidavit in support, the written address and the publication attached. The application has merit.