CASE NUMBER 10893:

FORMER FIRST LADY FORFEITS N5.4 BILLION

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Alleged Perpetrators(s)

Dame Patience Jonathan

Location (Town / State)

Abuja, Abuja

Date of Event

15 Mar 2019

Date of republication

15 March every year

Case category (Choose all that apply)

Case Summary

The Supreme Court affirmed the forfeiture of the sum of $8,435,788.84 and N2.4 billion in various bank accounts linked to Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of Ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Full story

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had traced the sums of $8,435,788.84 and N2.4 billion to Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of Former President Goodluck Jonathan, and alleged that it was proceed of illegal activities. The amount which totals over N5.4 billion, according to the EFCC was surreptitiously kept in the bank account of La Wari Furniture and Baths Limited, domiciled with Eco Bank Plc.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had approached the Federal high Court with two motion ex-parte for the grant of orders of interim forfeiture for the two sums found in the former first lady's accounts.
Honourable Justice Mojisola Olaterogun granted an order for the forfeiture of N2.4 billion in 2017, and held that anyone interested in it should appear before the court to show cause why it should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government. Dame Patience Jonathan had then approached the Court of Appeal with an application seeking to upturn the order of interim forfeiture placed on her accounts by the Federal High court.

The Court of Appeal delivered its ruling on this appeal concerning the N2.4 billion on the 12th January, 2018, and in its lead judgment read by Justice Mojeed Owoade, upheld the interim forfeiture order made by the Federal High Court.

The former first lady then filed an appeal challenging the ruling at the Supreme Court. A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court delivered an unanimous ruling on 15th March, 2019, and upheld the interim forfeiture order of the N2.4 billion. She was ordered to go back to the lower court to answer questions concerning the source of the N2.4 billion as demanded by the EFCC.

Honourable Justice Olatoregun had also on the 20th April, 2018 granted the second order for the forfeiture of the $8.4 Million linked to the former first lady. Dame Patience had also approached the Court of Appeal seeking to upturn this order of interim forfeiture placed on her accounts. The court of Appeal also consequently dismissed her appeal for lack of merit.

Upon further appeal to the Supreme Court, the apex court in a unanimous judgement delivered on 8th March, 2019 also dismissed Patience’s appeal against the interim forfeiture order of a Federal High Court, Lagos, for the sum of $8.4 million traced to her by the EFCC and believed to be proceeds of illegal activities.

External links/URLs

https://dailytimes.ng/forfeiture-of-n2-4bn-supreme-court-rules-against-patience-jonathan/

https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/news/3877-efcc-wins-as-supreme-court-affirms-forfeiture-of-patience-jonathan-s-8-4m

https://www.sunnewsonline.com/patience-jo

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