Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has mandated the final forfeiture of Sunflower Hotel Ltd, a multi-million-naira property in Kaduna State linked to former Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Tenebe, to the Nigerian government.
The order followed a motion for final forfeiture filed on 21 June and moved by EFCC counsel, F.O. Dibang.
Justice Ekwo declared, “Order is hereby made forfeiting the property set out in the attached schedule, found in possession of the respondent, as properties reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities, to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
On 16 February, the court had initially granted an interim preservation order for the hotel, instructing the EFCC to publicise the order to allow claimants to come forward.
According to PUNCH, an affidavit by EFCC operative, Dare Opeyemi, said the EFCC received intelligence in December 2022 of a conspiracy involving the theft and diversion of funds linked to Monday Onyeme, former Chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, and Adamu Danlami, who remains at large.
The investigation revealed Onyeme’s involvement in the diversion of NOUN funds to various companies, including Crossbill International Ltd.
Further findings connected Prof. Tenebe to the diversion, revealing that N275,081,896.09 traced to his account was used to fund Sunflower Hotel Ltd’s construction, a property acquired from his brother-in-law in Kaduna.
No claims were made on the hotel during the publication period, and the EFCC argued it was in the public interest to finalise the forfeiture.
The case, FHC/ABJ/CS/33/2024, names the EFCC as applicant and Sunflower Hotel Ltd as respondent.
