By Elizabeth Ngozi
LAGOS —A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to vacate the premises of Goodwill Private Schools Limited, Ikorodu, forthwith, pending the determination of the case before it.
The order was made on Monday by Justice O.A. Owoeye, after hearing the counsel for the school, Dr. Benson Enikuomehin, who led five other lawyers—Uzor Onwukwe, Omolola Omoyele, David O. Adedara, Kayode Mogbojuri, and Omolade Ebiwanno on the matter. Hannatu Umar Kofarnaisa represented the EFCC.
Dr Enikuomehin argued that the processes filed by the EFCC are in contravention of the provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2006, which regulates non-conviction forfeiture proceedings. He contended that the entire proceedings and the orders emanating from them should be set aside as they are void ab initio—a nullity in law.
He further submitted that the provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, upon which the EFCC’s application is premised, contemplate that the Federal Government should be the only beneficiary of a non-conviction forfeiture, not an individual.
In the present case, the EFCC purportedly obtained a non-conviction forfeiture order in the name of the Federal Government of Nigeria and handed the property over to one Mrs. Olabisi Olaiya.
According to Dr. Enikuomehin, a simple contractual transaction between parties cannot form the basis of a forfeiture order under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2006.
The transaction between Goodwill Private Schools and First City Monument Bank, FCMB, he argued, cannot justify forfeiture proceedings under the said section, as the property must relate to proceeds of unlawful activity or crime—which, in this case, he claimed, does not exist.
He also informed the court that a final forfeiture order can only be made upon application by a motion on notice, not by a motion ex parte, which the EFCC allegedly used to obtain the order. He contended that the procedure adopted by the EFCC was not a mere irregularity but an incurably defective and void process.
He, therefore, urged the court to set aside the void proceedings and the resulting orders.
In her response, counsel for the EFCC, Kofarnaisa argued that the court is functus officio in the matter and should not entertain Dr. Enikuomehin’s arguments on behalf of Goodwill Private Schools.
She claimed that since Goodwill Private Schools Limited did not grant vacant possession of the school to Mrs Olabisi Olaiya, the school’s actions amounted to proceeds of crime.
The judge subsequently ordered the EFCC to vacate the school premises pending the final determination of the case.
A date for the ruling will be communicated to the parties by the court.
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