EFCC returns three of Obanikoro's properties to him despite court ruling that they should be seized

FORMER defence minister Senator Musiliu Obanikoro has recovered three of his seized properties from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that had been confiscated in 2016 after a court deemed them to have been acquired illegally.

In a surprise development, yesterday, the EFCC returned the properties said to be worth about N500m to senator Obanikoro, his wife and children. They include four terraced houses located at 44 Mamman Kotangora Crescent in the highbrow Katamkpe Extension area of Abuja, a parcel of land in Guzape District and a duplex at Olori Mojisola Onikoyi Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Already, the usual EFCC signs in red paint with the inscription, EFCC, Keep Off, have been wiped off on the walls of the buildings. Senator Obanikoro, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) about a year ago, has been under investigation along with his two sons for money laundering.

He was accused of receiving N4.7bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser (Onsa) in 2014. About N2.2bn out of the funds was allegedly handed over to the then governorship candidate of the PDP in Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, while N1.3bn was said to have been given to the then Osun State governorship candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore.

Senator Obanikoro has, however, been converted to a prosecution witness and is expected to testify against Governor Fayose when his case comes to court soon. In 2016, Senator Obanikoro and his wife Moroophat, had sued the EFCC for seizing the houses but lost as the court ruled that the commission had the right to seize properties of persons under investigation.

An Federal Capital Territory high court had ordered the forfeiture of her properties pending the outcome of investigations. Mrs Obanikoro had argued that she bought the property over seven years before the alleged arms scam took place, also stating that the EFCC had no right to punish her for any crime allegedly committed by her husband and urged the court to award her N200m in damages.

However, in an affidavit deposed to by one Jackson Edet, the EFCC claimed that Mrs Obanikoro could not claim to be ignorant of her husband’s alleged crime. According to the EFCC, Moroophat’s husband and her sons collected over N600m from Onsa for a non-existent contract.

In addition, the EFCC argued that investigation had shown that the property in question belongs to Musliu Obanikoro and he paid for the statutory charges for it.  In his ruling, Justice Halilu said he could not stop the EFCC from doing its work.