Kwara State High Court has convicted the former Special Assistant on Community Intervention to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of fraud and criminal diversion of public funds.
Justice Haleema Saleeman delivered the ruling on Thursday, ordering the final forfeiture of two tractors and two tricycles said to have been illegally acquired by the former aide to the governor.
According to Justice Haleema, the items were proceeds of illicit activities linked to a transport empowerment scheme.
At the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Oyin-Zubair was said to have approached the Self Reliance Economic Advancement Programme (SEAP) for N192 million in funding to procure 100 tricycles and 100 minibuses for various transport unions in the state.
However, it was said that repayment funds of N72 million, paid back by the targeted beneficiaries of the SEAP loan, were criminally diverted and used to acquire the forfeited assets in his name.
The EFCC, represented by counsel Mustapha Kaigama, tendered compelling documentary evidence and witness testimonies that established the fraudulent link between the misappropriated funds and the acquired tractors and tricycles found in a warehouse on Fate Road, Ilorin.
Justice Saleeman dismissed an application by Oyin-Zubair’s lawyers seeking to overturn the interim forfeiture order.
She held that the defence failed to provide reasonable justification for the ownership of the assets and that the EFCC had satisfactorily proved that the items were proceeds of unlawful activity.
The court granted a final forfeiture of the assets to SEAP, whose funds were criminally diverted.
The estimated value of the forfeited items stands at N57.4 million.
The EFCC has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that public funds are protected from abuse and that no individual, regardless of their political ties, will be spared from the weight of the law.
