FG urges court to order forfeiture of Akwa Ibom senator's houses

macfranc007 June 04, 2018 IFTTT, Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Adeola Opeyemi

- The FG has prayed to a court to order the forfeiture of four houses belonging to Senator Akpan Bassey

- Bassey reportedly did not declare the properties as his but investigation shows he owns them

The Nigerian government has asked a court to order the interim forfeiture of four buildings reportedly owned by the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District in Akwa Ibom State, Bassey Akpan.

The federal government, through its Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property filed the application for the interim forfeiture marked FHC/ABJ/CS/378/2018 before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court in Abuja, The Punch reports.

The panel said in a motion filed on April 10, 2018, it was investigating him for failing to list the properties as part of his assets in the Assets Declaration Form of June 5, 2016, which he submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau as a senator.

“That in EXHIBIT A, the properties listed in Schedule A to this motion were not listed by the respondent (Akpan) as part of the properties in which he has an interest,” a supporting affidavit filed along with the panel’s motion read in part.

The targeted houses are located at:

1) 18 Jibril Aminu Crescent, Diplomatic Zone, Katampe Extension, Abuja;

2) 5 Chu Okongwu Link, Diplomatic Zone, Katampe, Extension, Abuja;

3) 11 Bola Ajibola Crescent, Diplomatic Zone, Katampe Extension, Abuja;

4) 22 Road, D Close, Gwarimpa Estate by Charlie Boy, Gwarimpa District, Abuja

Akpan is among serving senators, including a former Senate President, David Mark, and the incumbent Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who have recently come under the searchlight of the SPIPRPP in connection with the assets linked to them.

A litigation clerk in Keyamo’s law firm, Mr. Yohanna Shankuk, stated that the Chairman of the SPIPRPP, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, informed him that “preliminary investigations revealed that the ownership of the property listed in Schedule A is shrouded in secrecy.”

He alleged that “the records of the appropriate agencies do not reveal the existing owner of the properties.”

But he added that “further investigations including interview of witnesses and neighbours revealed that the property may belong to Akpan.”

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com earlier reported that the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday, May 17, ordered a temporary forfeiture of some properties worth N1.8 billion allegedly belonging to Tuoyo Omatsuli, the executive director, projects, Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) to the federal government.

The presiding judge, Justice Chuka Obiozor gave the order following an ex-parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

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