Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of Abuja, Kano Properties Linked To FIRS Official
The properties include a luxurious four-bedroom terrace maisonette with a boys’ quarters located at Barumark Groove Estate, Plot 667, Cadastral Zone, BO3, Wuye District, Abuja. The property was reportedly acquired in the name of MYZ Venture, a firm linked to Garunbaba.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of two high-value properties linked to a Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) official, Aminu Sidi Garunbaba, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice Obiora Egwuatu held that Garunbaba failed to establish that the funds used to purchase the properties were sourced from legitimate income.
The properties include a luxurious four-bedroom terrace maisonette with a boys’ quarters located at Barumark Groove Estate, Plot 667, Cadastral Zone, BO3, Wuye District, Abuja. The property was reportedly acquired in the name of MYZ Venture, a firm linked to Garunbaba.
The second forfeited property, located at No. 5 Lodge Road, Kano, was also traced to the embattled FIRS staff member.
In his judgment, Justice Egwuatu said: “A person cannot be allowed to benefit from illegitimate acts. The respondent failed to provide the instrument of purchase or any credible explanation as to how the properties were acquired through lawful means.”
The judge further dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Garunbaba, stating that the objections raised were not sufficient to invalidate the application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to him, the FIRS official could not prove that the EFCC’s filings breached any provisions of the Evidence Act.
EFCC counsel Martha Babatunde argued that Garunbaba, as a public officer, is not immune from investigation or prosecution merely because administrative procedures might still be pending against him.
“A public officer can be investigated and prosecuted before any administrative disciplinary action is taken,” Babatunde said during proceedings.
The EFCC had earlier approached the court through a motion on notice dated March 16, 2022, and filed on March 21, 2022, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/876/2021. The anti-graft agency requested a final order of forfeiture of the properties, which were “reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.”
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the EFCC argued that the court has the statutory authority to grant the reliefs sought.
The Commission stated: “The properties sought to be attached and forfeited are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities. The interim order of this honourable court has been published in two national newspapers, THISDAY and PUNCH.
“No sufficient cause has been shown as to why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
In an affidavit supporting the motion, EFCC operative Apagu Wudah detailed findings from an investigation into allegations of criminal conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office, and money laundering involving FIRS officials.
Wudah said that between 2017 and 2018, a FIRS official, Garunbaba, and others colluded to fraudulently obtain millions of naira through false duty tour allowance (DTA) claims for trips that never occurred.
Meanwhile, the staff members, upon receiving the DTA payments, retained 10 to 15 percent as their share and forwarded the remaining sums to senior officials, including the former Director of Finance and the Coordinating Director.
In an extra-judicial statement dated May 23, 2019, made in the presence of his lawyer, Mr Garunbaba disclosed that a total of N269,335,750 was shared among top FIRS officials: N145 million to Peter Hena, N95 million to Bello Auta, and N29.3 million to Aminu Sidi. He said the payments were made in cash at the FIRS office.
Investigations also revealed that Garunbaba received some of the diverted funds through his Stanbic IBTC Bank account (9301540597), while others were handed to him in cash.
He later converted a significant portion of the money into US dollars through a bureau de change operator named Wan Jafar Shehu.
In 2018, Garunbaba used the funds to acquire properties, including a four-bedroom terrace maisonette purchased for N65 million from Barumark Investment and Development Company Ltd, paid through his First Bank account (3040986059).
He also purchased a property at No. 5 Lodge Road, Kano, for N39 million from Alakhillau Enterprises, which Adamu Muhammed operates.
Wudah stressed that Garunbaba, a public servant on a fixed annual salary, could not have legitimately afforded these properties, which were acquired during the period he was receiving and diverting DTA funds.
