The former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, will learn his fate on November 1 regarding a lawsuit seeking the release of his $9.8 million cash seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from his Kaduna residence in 2017.
Yakubu filed a suit against the EFCC, Central Bank of Nigeria, and a commercial bank, alleging their refusal to release the money after an Abuja high court had discharged and acquitted him of money laundering charges brought against him by the agency.
Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo has scheduled November 1 to deliver a judgment on the money seizure case after Monday’s hearing. In March 2022, a Federal High Court in Abuja quashed the money laundering charges against Yakubu, which were brought after the EFCC discovered $9,772,800 and £74,000 in an apartment linked to him in 2017.
Yakubu’s lawyer has returned to court, claiming that the monies have not been released as directed by the court, and is seeking an order for their release or, alternatively, for the money to be deposited with the Federal High Court Registrar pending the suit’s determination.
The EFCC, represented by Faruk Abdullah, objected to the application, citing appeals filed in the Court of Appeal in Abuja against the judgment of the Federal High Court. Justice Ekwo, after hearing arguments from all parties involved, set November 1 as the date for a verdict on compelling the EFCC to release the money.
