Muiz Tijani Adeyinka, a former staff of First Bank of Nigeria, has been ordered to forfeit N1,168,602,877.44; $392,818.01; and £35,070, which were recovered from him, to the Nigerian government.
The ruling was issued on Tuesday by Justice A. O. Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, following a motion for final forfeiture supported by an affidavit from Isah Yusuf Nadabo, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Earlier, in November 2024, Justice Owoeye had ordered the interim forfeiture of the funds and directed that the order be published in a national newspaper, allowing interested parties to contest the forfeiture.
According to the EFCC’s counsel, Zeenat Atiku, the commission received a petition from First Bank in March 2024, alleging fraudulent transactions involving multiple bank accounts. The investigation revealed that Adeyinka had manipulated settlement accounts by creating fictitious domiciliary inflows, which he then transferred, along with the Naira equivalent, to himself and his associates.
After considering the evidence, Justice Owoeye granted the final forfeiture, ruling that the application was valid and merited.