Court Orders Forfeiture Of Nigerian Senator’s 14 Properties, 22 Bank Accounts

Court Orders Forfeiture Of Nigerian Senator’s 14 Properties, 22 Bank Accounts

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has approved an interim forfeiture of Peter Nwaoboshi‘s properties to the Nigerian government.

The court made an initial order for the confiscation of 14 properties and 22 bank accounts linked to Mr Nwaoboshi on Tuesday. The bank accounts were traced to Zenith Bank, UBA, Access Bank and Sterling Bank, and they were all joined in the suit, the temporary forfeiture order.

The Delta North senator was given 30 days to justify how he acquired the properties and convince the court not to grant a permanent forfeiture of the assets to the Nigerian government.

The order came amidst a deepening probe of Mr Nwaoboshi’s wealth, which federal authorities argued was ill-gotten and should be forfeited.

The senator was arraigned previously on allegations of false assets filings, but the tribunal that had powers to hear the case in Abuja threw it out, citing prosecutors’ failure to follow procedures for filing such a case.

Mr Nwaoboshi, who was declared the winner of a second Senate run in February, has also been locked in a tough battle for the seat with Ned Nwoko, a business lawyer based in Abuja. The Supreme Court had granted an accelerated hearing in an appeal filed by Mr Nwoko against the victory of Mr Nwaoboshi at the Court of Appeal, with final judgement expected in the next few days.