Mr. Ibrahim
Tumsah, a civil servant with the Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing
has been ordered to forfeit 86 luxury cars - 23 of which are said to be
armoured - four houses, a quarry and eight containers seven of which were
described as filled with household items. The order was handed down by the High
Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Apo, Abuja. Tumsah is said to be the
Director of Finance and Account in the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and
Housing.
The
properties were recovered on November 17, 2017, in a warehouse located on the
premises of the house at 22 Igbani Street, Jabi, Abuja. Justice Muawiyah Idris
of the FCT High Court granted the interim forfeiture orders on December 6, 2017
following an ex parte application filed on November 23, 2017, by the recently
constituted Special Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property
chaired by the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecutions, Chief Okoi
Obono-Obla.
The court,
in its ruling, granted the orders authorising the panel “to freeze” all the
items listed in the schedule attached to the ex parte motion “pending full
investigation on the serious criminal allegations that were brought against the
respondents” – Tumsah and brother, Tijjani Tumsah.
But the
judge also ordered that the panel’s ongoing investigation must be completed
within three months.
He then
adjourned until March 6, 2018.
The
Obono-Obla-led panel had alleged that Tumsah, from whom the multi-million naira
assets were seized, was merely on a monthly salary of less than N500,000,
yet acquired all the assets between 2016
and 2017. The panel said both Tumsah and his brother, when invited for
interrogation, could not explain or justify their sources of wealth and how
they acquired the assets.
Amongst the
cars recovered were Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Ford, Maseratti, Chevrolet, Lexus,
Toyota, Jaguar and Land Rover.
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