Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of Assets Linked To Oyo-Ita

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday ordered the permanent forfeiture of some assets linked to Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita.

Although details of the case were not read out in the open court, Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo-Giwa made the order of final forfeiture of the monetary assets to the Federal Government.

The assets were earlier returned to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by a suspect linked to Oyo-Ita.

The embattled Oyo-Ita is involved in an N3billion alleged contract scam, a case which she was recently about quizzed by the EFCC.

Sources told Channels Television that she is also being investigated over alleged abuse of duty tour allowance, money laundering and alleged theft of government funds.

President Muhammadu Buhari earlier in September ordered the former Head of Service Oyo-Ita to proceed on indefinite leave to allow a proper investigation by the EFCC in the allegations against her.

Counsel to the EFCC lawyer, Mohammed Abubakar, says the funds were voluntarily returned to the commission as proceeds of crime by an associate of Mrs. Oyo-Ita.

He also reminded the court that it had on June 28, 2019, granted an ex parte application ordering the interim forfeiture of the assets.

Abubakar explains that as at Thursday 26th of August, no one had come out to challenge the interim court order on asset forfeiture despite the fact that it had been served on the suspect.