CASE NUMBER 10889:

NDDC DIRECTOR FORFEITS PROPERTIES

Click the thumbnails, below for larger photos

Alleged Perpetrators(s)

Tuoyo Omatsuli

Location (Town / State)

Ikoyi, Lagos

Date of Event

10 Dec 2018

Date of republication

10 December every year

Case category (Choose all that apply)

Case Summary

The Federal high Court ordered the final forfeiture of a number of choice properties worth N1.8bn recovered from the Executive Director, Projects, Niger Delta Development Commission, NNDC, Tuoyo Omatsuli, to the Federal Government.

Full story

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had been monitoring the assets purchased by Mr. Tuoyo Omatsuli, Executive Director of Projects for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The EFCC finally arraigned Tuoyo and one Francis Momoh on 8th November, 2018 before Justice Salisu Saidu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on a 45-count charge bordering on conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N3, 645, 000, 000.00 (Three Billion, Six Hundred and Forty- five Million Naira).

Omatsuli and Momoh, who were charged alongside their companies, Don Parker Properties Limited and Building Associates Limited respectively, were said to have shown personal interests in the consultancy contract awarded to Starline Consultancy Services Limited by the NDDC, thereby enriching themselves unlawfully.

Investigations revealed that the defendants received monies in tranches from Starline Consultancy Services Limited through their companies and used the funds to purchase properties across the country which is contrary to Section 15(2) (b) of the Money Laundering Act 2011 as amended by (Act No. 1 of 2012) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.

The EFCC instituted another action against Omatsuli before Honourable Justice Obiozor of the Federal High Court, Lagos for recovery of his ill-gotten assets. During the course of this trial, it was discovered that Tuoyo Omatsuli collected the sum of N3.65 billion from Starline Consultancy Services Limited which was engaged by the NDCC to help it recover its statutory 3 per cent annual budgets of oil and gas producing companies in the Niger Delta. It was agreed that Starline Consultancy Services Limited would be paid 10 per cent commission on the total funds recovered from the oil and gas companies for the NDDC. Omatsuli agreed and received kickbacks (bribe) to the tune of N3,645,000,000.000 from Starline Consultancy Services Limited through Building Associates Limited, whose alter ego is Francis Momoh (an ally of Mr. Omatsuli).

In order to recover the funds, Starline Consultancy Services Limited sought and got the help of the House of Representatives Committee on NDCC, which wrote several letters to the oil and gas companies to demand that they pay their statutory levies to the NDDC.

Starline Consultancy Services Limited eventually succeeded in the job and was paid a total N10,218,019,060.59 as its 10 per cent commission between August 22, 2014 and June 25, 2015.

The Federal High Court per Justice Chuka Obiozor sitting in Lagos granted the temporary forfeiture of four landed properties linked to Omatsuli on 17th May, 2018. The four properties, located in highbrow Lekki Peninsula Scheme area of Lagos, were valued at N846.03m. They are Block 117 Plot 4 Lekki Peninsula Scheme; TPAO 992 Ikate Ancient City, Eti-Osa LGA, Lagos; Plots 1 – 18 Block 43, TPAO 992, Ikate Ancient City, Lekki Peninsula, Eti-Osa, Lagos; Plot 1B, Northern Business District, Lekki Pennisula scheme 1 and Plot 1 Block 1, Lekki Peninsula Residential scheme 1 Eti-Osa Local Government Area.

The temporary order of forfeiture was made final on 10th December, 2018, as Justice Obiozor held that the properties were acquired through proceeds from kickbacks received by Building Associate Limited operated by Momoh on behalf of Tuoyo. The Judge, therefore, ruled that the property should be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.

External links/URLs

http://saharareporters.com/2018/05/17/efcc-says-ex-nddc-boss-omatsuli-collected-n365billion-bribe-consultant

https://www.icirnigeria.org/nddc-director-tuoyo-omatsuli-forfeits-n1-8bn-properties-to-fg/

http://efccnigeria.org/efcc/news/3540-court-

Message: