The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, ordered the permanent forfeiture of shares worth N246.3 million traced to a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), Major-General U.M. Mohammed (retd.), after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) proved that the assets were proceeds of fraud.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu delivered the ruling following an application brought by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC, represented by counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa.
The anti-graft agency had told the court that Mohammed, while serving as NAPL’s Managing Director between 2015 and 2020, diverted funds from the sale of company properties and laundered the proceeds by acquiring shares in various companies through Awhua Resources Limited.
According to court documents, the seized shares included those in National Aviation Handling Company (N115.5m); Oando Plc (N2m); Dangote Sugar Refinery (N1m); Vitafoam Nigeria Plc (N81.9m); and University Press Plc (N40.1m).
The EFCC, through an affidavit deposed to by one of its investigators, Nwike Fortune, stated that the purchases were deliberate attempts by Mohammed to conceal illicit wealth.
“It is in the interest of justice to finally forfeit the said shares contained in Schedules A, B, and C of this application, as they were acquired with funds that are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities,” the EFCC argued.
The court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order and directed that it be published in a national daily, inviting objections from any interested parties. With no valid opposition, Justice Dipeolu ruled that the prosecution’s case had merit and ordered the final forfeiture of the shares to the Federal Government.
A Troubled Past
Mohammed has been at the centre of a long-running corruption scandal in the military.
In October 2023, a Special Court-Martial convicted him on 14 out of 18 charges, including stealing, forgery, conspiracy, and unauthorised diversion of Army property. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and ordered to refund $2,178,900 and N1.65 billion to NAPL and the Nigerian Army.
He had earlier been detained at Kuje Prison in May 2024, after what sources described as an “illegal warrant of committal,” which the military authorities later regularised.
The disgraced general was also accused of selling Army properties to politicians and influential figures at a 75 per cent discount during his tenure at NAPL — a scandal he claimed was authorised by former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.).
With Tuesday’s judgment, the Federal Government has now taken permanent ownership of the controversial shares, marking another legal blow against the embattled former Army properties boss.
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