Court orders forfeiture of nine Dubai mansions, 31 other assets in US, UK, Abuja linked to Ike Ekweremadu
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday permitted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to temporarily seize 40 properties, nine in Dubai, linked to Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
The order came as Senator Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, is being held in the United Kingdom for allegedly trying to harvest David Nwamini’s kidney for their ailing daughter.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, handed down the interim forfeiture order for his properties after hearing an ex-parte application filed by the EFCC.
An EFCC lawyer, Ibrahim Buba, moved the application for the confiscation of the assets, saying they were suspicious proceeds of crime.
The lawyer told the judge that the landed properties comprise 15 in Abuja, 10 in Enugu (Mr Ekweremadu’s home state), one in Lagos, two in the United Kingdom, three in the United States, and nine in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The EFCC claimed the assets were allegedly acquired with proceeds of fraud
Justice Ekwo, who granted the motion, ordered the anti-graft agency to publish the interim forfeiture order of the property in a national daily within seven days.
The judge direct anybody who had an interest in the forfeited property to indicate within 14 days of the publication of the interim forfeiture order why the property should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
The presiding judge then adjourned the matter until December 5 for a report.
Recall that the London Metropolitan Police arrested Mr Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, on an allegation that Mr Nwanini, whom the couple took to London for organ harvesting, was a minor.
Newsflash Nigeria reported that the prosecutors said the Ekweremadus was charged with bringing a 15-year-old boy from Nigeria to the UK with the claim that he was to be given a better life in the UK but was actually to harvest his organ for their ailing daughter.
But the couple, who have been denied bail and face charges of organ trafficking in London, had insisted that Mr Nwanini was 21 years old.
While Mr Ekweremadu remains in custody, it was reported that a London Court has adjourned his case until May 2023.
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