Telecom magnates, Kingsley Ifeanyi Adonu and Babatunde Said Adeola have lost a parcel of land in Enugu State to the Federal Government
Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, May 13, 2024, ordered the final forfeiture of the land measuring 2,348.072 square metres in Enugu State, recovered from Kingsley Ifeanyi Adonu and Babatunde Said Adeola.
Adeola and Adonu, identified as owners of S. Mobile Netzone Limited, Biss Networks Nigeria Limited, and Pristine Mobile Networks Nigeria Limited, had presented themselves as telecommunications experts with thriving businesses and joint ventures involving MTN Nigeria and other firms.
“The Commission, however, received a petition alleging a case of conspiracy and obtaining the sum of ₦510,000,000 (Five Hundred and Ten Million Naira) against S. Mobile Netzone Limited, Biss Networks Nigeria Limited and Pristine Networks Mobile Networks Nigeria Limited.”
Investigations revealed that the funds were invested by the petitioners in the telecom ventures operated by the respondents.
Rather than refunding the petitioners or fulfilling investment returns, the respondents allegedly diverted the funds for personal use, including acquiring properties across the country.
One of the properties allegedly acquired with the diverted funds is a parcel of land measuring 2,348.072 square metres, located along Enugu-Ezike/Obolo-Afor Road, Ogrute Enugu Ezike, in Igboeze Local Government Area, Enugu State, and detailed in Survey Plan No. CSS/EM164/2005.
In response, the Commission filed a motion ex parte seeking interim forfeiture of the identified property. In a 16-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Adekunbi Mojisola, an EFCC investigator, the Commission requested the court to grant the forfeiture.
The judge granted the interim forfeiture order in July 2023 and directed that the order be published in a national newspaper. Following this, the EFCC published the order in the Punch newspaper on November 8, 2023, inviting interested parties to show cause why the property should not be permanently forfeited.
In the absence of any opposition, the court, on December 13, 2023, considered the EFCC’s final forfeiture application and, on May 13, 2024, granted the final forfeiture of the property to the Federal Government.
