Court orders ex-NDDC Director, Omatsuli to forfeit N846.03m properties

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday ordered the temporary forfeiture of four landed properties linked to a former Executive Director, Projects, Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr. Tuoyo Omatsuli.

The four properties, located in highbrow Lekki Peninsula Scheme area of Lagos, were valued at N846.03m.

Justice Chuka Obiozor gave an order for the temporary forfeiture of the properties on Thursday following an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The EFCC had claimed in the ex parte application that the properties were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

In an affidavit deposed to by one of its investigators, Adamu Yusuf, the EFCC claimed that Omatsuli received a bribe of N3,645,000,000 from a consultant to the NDDC, Starline Consultancy Services Limited.

According to the anti-graft agency, Starline Consultancy Services Limited was engaged by the NDCC to help it recover its statutory three per cent annual budgets of oil and gas producing companies in the Niger Delta.

Yusuf said it was agreed that Starline Consultancy Services Limited would be paid 10 per cent commission on the total funds recovered from the oil and gas companies for the NDDC.

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