Court orders forfeiture of N1.6bn allegedly diverted in Kaduna

From: Femi Oyelola in Kaduna

The Federal High Court in Kaduna has ordered the temporary forfeiture of N1,373,180,510.07, which was allegedly diverted into the private account of Indo Kaduna Marts JV Nigeria Limited.
The court also directed the applicant to ‘’publish a notice in any two national newspapers, calling for persons whether human, juristic or artificial having interest in the property, to show cause in court why the aforesaid movable property should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.’’
The exparte order which was given by Justice G. M Kabara on February 28, 2025, was sequel to the application that was filed on February 14, 2025.
According to court documents, the forfeited amount was recovered into the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) ‘’recovery account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria in the course of an ongoing investigation activity against officials of Kaduna State Government between 2015 and 2023.’’
The Federal Government of Nigeria is the applicant while Indo Kaduna MRTS JV Nigeria Limited is the defendant in the suit marked FHC/KD/C5/28/2025 which was brought ‘’pursuant to section 17(1)(2)(3) and (4) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006.’’
The defendant was also charged under ‘’Section 7,8,9,10, 11 and 12 of the Proceeds of Crime(Recovery and Management) Act, 2022 and Section 6(6)9a) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria(as amended).’’