Court Freezes Account Of Suspended Ogun Governor’s Aide Over $350k Fraud

Court has frozen the account of Abidemi Rufai, suspended aide of Ogun Governor, Dapo Abiodun.

Gatekeepers News reports that a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos State has ordered the interim forfeiture of the funds and property linked to Abidemi Rufai.

In May, Rufai, a suspended Senior Special Assistant to Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, was arrested in the United States over alleged $350,000 unemployment benefits fraud.

On Tuesday, Justice Tijjani Ringim gave the forfeiture order following an ex-parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In the suit, Rufai’s firm, Omo Mayodele Global Investment was included as the second respondent while Sterling Bank Plc was the third respondent.

EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren in a statement, said the court ordered “covers his property located at 11, Omodayo Awotuga Street, Bera Estate, Chevy View, Lekki, Lagos, and funds in his accounts domiciled in Sterling and Zenith Banks”.

The statement read further, “Investigation revealed that Rufai, who was arrested for an alleged $350,000 fraud in the United States of America, USA, had dissipated the sum of the N29.37m in the accounts, in tranches of N5,000,000, N5,000,000, N2, 730,000, N1,100,000, N2,040,000, N2,000,000, N2,000,000 and N5,000,000.

“The funds, investigation revealed, were housed in his accounts in three different banks.”

The Counsel to the Commission, Emeka Okongwu, asked the court to grant the applicant’s prayers in order to prevent further dissipation of the funds in the bank.

The Judge in his ruling said: “I am satisfied by the averment in the affidavit deposed to by Usman Abdulhamid and the legal submission of the counsel that this application should succeed and the same is accordingly granted as prayed.”

Ringim, therefore, ordered the Commission to publish the order within 14 days for any interested party to show cause why the funds and property should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The case was adjourned till December 1, 2021, for further hearing.