Justice F. N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court
sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, ordered the final
forfeiture of
2,041,087,747.00 units of Livingtrust Mortgage Bank
Plc, formerly known as Omoluabi Mortgage Bank Plc, valued at N6,674,356,932.69.
The court also ordered the final forfeiture of the
sums of N42,461,096.66 and $26.44.
The shares and the funds in the accounts were traced
to Cititrust Holdings Plc and its subsidiaries.
The Judge gave the order, following a motion on notice
filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos
through its counsel, Ahmad A Usman.
Justice Ogazi had earlier granted the interim
forfeiture of the properties and also ordered the publication of the said order
in a national newspaper for any interested parties to show cause why they
should not be finally forfeited to the victims.
Moving the application for the final forfeiture, Usman
said the Commission had published Cititrust Holdings Plc and some of its
subsidiaries as part of the companies being prosecuted for operating as a Ponzi
scheme.
He said the properties were found to have been
purchased with several investors’ funds.
“The shares were initially purchased from Osun State
Government by Cititrust, using some SPVs and later harmonized and transferred
to the name of Cititrust Holdings Plc,” he added.
The respondent, Cititrust Holdings Plc, however,
contested the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture through a motion and
an affidavit.
In his ruling, the court discountenanced Cititrust’s
application and affidavit to show cause and saw merit in the EFCC’s
application.
The Judge, consequently, ordered the final forfeiture
of the 2,041,087,747.00 units of Livingtrust Mortgage Bank Plc, the sums of
N42,461,096.66 and $26.44 to the victims.
The Judge also ordered that the victims be paid what
is due to them and the remainder, if any, be forfeited to the Federal
Government of Nigeria.
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