Court Orders Final Forfeiture of Property Linked To N89m Sterling Bank Fraud

Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of a storey building located at No. 26 Tolu Road, Olodi Apapa, in the Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The property is reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

The suspected illegal funds stemmed from the unauthorized transfer of N89 million belonging to Sterling Bank Plc, allegedly resulting from a system glitch.

The forfeiture order followed a motion filed and argued by counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Hanatu Kofarnaisa.

The EFCC filed the application under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, No. 14 of 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.

The application, dated April 8, 2025, in Suit No: FHC/L/MISC/795/2024, sought a final forfeiture of the said property to the Federal Government of Nigeria, on behalf of Sterling Bank Plc.

The Commission’s investigation allegedly revealed that the building was acquired or developed using proceeds of unlawful activities.

According to the EFCC, the Court is empowered under the law to grant the reliefs sought. It maintained that the funds used to acquire the property are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime.

In an affidavit in support of the motion, Gyal Maina Gapani, an EFCC operative assigned to the case, recounted the findings of the investigation.

He stated that on July 18, 2022, the EFCC received a petition from Sterling Bank alleging criminal conversion and unauthorized transfer of funds due to a system glitch.

The petition claimed that a total of N295,916,201.02 was unlawfully transferred and converted by some customers of the bank for personal use.

One suspect, Ojora Sulaimon Kehinde, was alleged to have fraudulently obtained N89 million through PayAttitude Global Ltd, an e-wallet platform of the bank.

The EFCC wrote to PayAttitude, which responded in a letter dated March 17, 2023, providing transaction records linked to Kehinde.

To launder and conceal the illicit funds, Kehinde allegedly transferred a substantial amount to his wife, Aminat Olatanwa Ojora, via her Sterling Bank account (0072889319).

The funds were reportedly used to purchase the property now forfeited.

Further investigations revealed that Aminat transferred N17 million to Chuksy Odozy Osazuwa (Zenith Bank account 1006927656), who then facilitated the purchase of the property.

Kehinde also allegedly enlisted his brother, Muritala Sulaimon Kehinde, to act as a front in executing the deed of assignment.

Osazuwa and five of his relatives reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding confirming the transaction.

The EFCC stated that the interim forfeiture order was granted on January 10, 2025.

The court also directed that the order be published in a national daily to allow interested parties to appear and show cause why the forfeiture should not be made final.

He added the order was published in The Punch newspaper.

Having complied with the directive and with no opposition filed, the EFCC urged the court to grant the final forfeiture, stating it was in the interest of justice.

Consequently, Justice Dipeolu granted the application and ordered the final forfeiture of the property.