Ex-NNPC Boss, Yakubu, Fights Back, Asks Court to Set Aside Forfeiture of $9.7 Million

Andrew Yakubu

A former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Andrew Yakubu has asked a Federal High Court in Kano to set aside the order of forfeiture granted to the federal government by the court on the cash sums of $9,772,800 and £74,000 that he had concealed in a fireproof safe at a residence in Kaduna.

In an application filed by his lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN) the former NNPC boss said the court that granted the forfeiture order had no jurisdiction to do so.

He also contended that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which obtained the order from the court, did not follow the law in applying and securing the forfeiture order and it was liable to be set aside.

He, therefore, asked the court to set aside the order and return the cash sums of $9,772,800 and £74,000,000 to him.

His lawyer argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, being one related to a crime alleged to have been committed in Abuja, outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Kano court.