EFCC Appeals Court Ruling Setting Aside Forfeiture Order on Ex-Warri Refinery MD’s Properties

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has appealed a Federal High Court ruling that set aside its interim forfeiture order against properties linked to Jimoh Olasunkanmi Yisawu, a former Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC).

The Commission is challenging the decision of Justice James Omotosho, who dismissed its application for the final forfeiture of funds and properties belonging to the former refinery chief.

This was disclosed in a notice of appeal filed by the EFCC’s lawyer, E.E. Iheanacho, SAN.

The development follows an earlier report that Justice Omotosho ruled that the EFCC had failed to establish that Yisawu’s income from his 32 years of service at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was disproportionate to the value of the assets in question.

After reviewing the financial records and explanations presented by both parties, the judge held that the evidence favoured the former managing director.

EFCC alleges errors in court ruling

In its appeal, the EFCC is challenging the entire decision of the trial court, alleging that the judge failed to properly evaluate evidence presented by the Commission.

Through its counsel, the EFCC argued that evidence showed that Yisawu’s income between September 2020, when he completed his Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Asset Declaration Form, and September 2023, when he retired, was significantly lower than the $912,550 he allegedly paid to two Bureau de Change (BDC) operators, Samaila Bala and Rasheed Yusuf.

The Commission claimed that between 2021 and 2025, Yisawu paid a total of $912,550 in cash to the two operators, an amount equivalent to more than N1.5 billion.

According to the EFCC, the evidence presented showed that the source of the money was not linked to the former managing director’s lawful earnings.

The Commission also argued that Yisawu failed to provide a credible explanation for the source of funds used to develop the disputed landed properties and purchase the treasury bills it sought to recover.

The EFCC further relied on Exhibit EFCC 16, which it said showed that Yisawu had acquired other movable and immovable assets, including vehicles and landed properties, using his salaries, allowances and other official earnings between 2005 and 2020.

Iheanacho argued that the trial court failed to consider income Yisawu allegedly earned before completing the CCB asset declaration form when assessing his lawful earnings against the substantial dollar payments made to the BDC operators.

The Commission also cited Exhibit EFCC 18, which allegedly showed that Yisawu used his gratuity of N368,894,865.28 to acquire other properties and Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bonds between November 2023 and December 2024.

It maintained that the funds paid to Bala and Yusuf were separate from his pension and gratuity.

EFCC challenges asset declaration claim

Another ground of appeal concerns the trial judge’s finding that Yisawu had declared his assets.

The EFCC argued that the Code of Conduct Bureau, which maintains records of asset declarations by public officers, allegedly confirmed that it had no record of Yisawu’s declaration.

Iheanacho claimed that although the former managing director completed the CCB Asset Declaration Form in 2020, he failed to submit it to the Bureau.

The senior lawyer maintained that asset declaration is an important requirement for determining the legitimacy of assets linked to public officers.

He also argued that the trial judge failed to appreciate the EFCC’s statutory powers to request and obtain public records from individuals, companies and government agencies, including the CCB.

The Commission further contended that there was no evidence showing that Yisawu purchased the foreign currencies with his savings, salaries, allowances, pension or gratuity, or that he used legitimate funds to acquire the treasury bills and develop the two properties.

The EFCC is asking the appellate court to set aside the trial court’s decision and grant the final forfeiture of the funds and properties it considers reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities to the Federal Government.

Yisawu maintains properties were acquired through lawful earnings

At the trial court, Yisawu, through his lawyer, Wale Balogun, SAN, maintained that he served the NNPC for 32 years and acquired his assets through legitimate earnings.

He denied violating any contract, adding that neither the NNPC, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), WRPC nor the contractor had lodged any complaint against him over his conduct or the execution of the project.

Yisawu also argued that he served as Managing Director of WRPC for only ten months, while the properties targeted for forfeiture were acquired between 2015 and 2020, before his appointment.

He maintained that his earnings over 32 years, including salaries, allowances and estacodes, were sufficient to fund the acquisition of the properties and treasury bills.

The former refinery chief also said he had earned foreign currencies through trading in the open market over the years.

On the allegation of failure to declare his assets, Yisawu argued that he made the required declarations when NNPCL was wholly owned by the government but was no longer required to do so as a public officer following the company’s privatisation.

Justice Omotosho, while setting aside the interim forfeiture orders and dismissing the final forfeiture application, held that Yisawu’s evidence outweighed what he described as the EFCC’s “flimsy and watery” evidence.

NNPC money laundering casePrevious

The latest development adds to previous high-profile anti-corruption cases involving former Nigerian petroleum sector officials that ended in favour of the accused at the Federal High Court.

In 2022, the Federal High Court in Abuja discharged and acquitted Andrew Yakubu, a former Group Managing Director of the NNPC, of money laundering charges.

The EFCC had raided Yakubu’s residence in Kaduna State in 2017 following a tip-off and allegedly recovered $9,772,800 and £74,000 from a fireproof safe.

The discovery led to a money laundering case against the former NNPC chief, which lasted five years before the court discharged and acquitted him.