Former President of the Nigerian Senate, Bukola Saraki, has cried out over the temporary forfeiture order granted the government to take over his properties in Ikoyi.
The Federal High Court in Lagos had granted an ex-parte filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission seeking the forfeiture of the properties to the Nigerian Government.
Reacting to this forfeiture, Saraki, who spoke through Yusuph Olaniyonu, his media aide, said he was not aware of the application before it was filed before the court.
He said, “We are sure the FHC judge in Lagos was not aware of all these facts and has therefore been misled into giving the temporary forfeiture order.
“The affected property, House Number 17 A and 17B, was specifically listed in the case against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal in which the EFCC was part of the prosecution and the case went up to the Supreme Court where the apex court in its July 6, 2018 judgement ruled in his favour.
“The Supreme Court has ruled that the source of funds for the purchase of the property was not illicit as claimed by the prosecution.
“On pages 12, 13 and 26 of the judgment of the highest court, this particular property on 17A McDonald Street, Ikoyi, was specifically referred to and the court upheld the no-case submission of Dr Saraki and therefore ruled in his favour.
“We know that any action which tends to mislead the court amounts to misrepresentation and it is a good ground for us to get the court to throw away the order it issued today. We are sure the order will be reversed.”
