LIVING LARGE!
Top Civil Servant Forfeits
Private University, Hotel, Event Centre To Federal Government
A top federal civil servant, Anthony Hassan has forfeited a private university, hotel and event centre to the Federal Government of Nigeria following his failure to prove he did not acquire the properties with proceeds from crime.
This followed
a ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja which issued an order of final
forfeiture of all assets of a private university, NOK University, located in
Kaduna State to the Federal Government.
Justice Joyce
Abdulmalik, in a judgment on Friday, held that the promoter of the university,
Anthony Hassan failed to prove, with convincing evidence, that he did not acquire
the assets with proceeds of crime.
Also to be
forfeited by Hassan, a former Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA) in the
Federal Ministry of Health, are three other investments – Gwasmyen Water Factory, Gwasmyen
International Hotel and Gwasmyen Event Centre all located in Kaduna.
The physical
assets of the university forfeited include Senate building, ICT building,
Faculty of Medicine building, Science Deanery building, two Academic buildings,
a Faculty Hall and other buildings.
Justice
Abdulmalik rejected the claim by Hassan and his company, KYC Inter-Project
Limited that the school was built with funds sourced from other investor.
The judge also rejected the claim by one Barrister Victor Olisah that he owned the six plots of land on which Gwasmyen International Hotel was erected, on the grounds that he failed to establish his ownership of the land with credible evidence.
The judgment
was on an application for final forfeiture brought by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to which the court had in 2022 granted an
interim forfeiture order in respect of the assets.
Justice
Abdulmalik held that the EFCC, through its lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho effectively
established, with suffecient evidence, that Hassan acquired the said assets with
proceeds of crime.
The judge
held that Hassan and KYC failed woefully
to show with cogent documentary event the financial trails of how they sourced
funds to acquire the assets.
The EFCC had,
in an affidavit supporting the application for final forfeiture, stated that
its investigation showed that Hassan, who has always been a civil servant, used
his position to confer undue advantage on himself..
The EFCC
stated that Hassan, “who was a civil
servant, rose through the ranks to become a Director in the Civil Service of
the Federation.
“In the course of his career, he was
posted to the Federal Ministry of Health from 2001 to 2008; Federal Ministry of Women Affairs from 2009
to 2015; Ministry of Niger Delta in
2015; Ministry of Youth and Sport Development from 2015 to 2016; Ministry of Health from 2016 to 2019; and
Ministry of Works and Housing from 2019 to 2020.”
It added that Hassan “was the Director
of the Finance & Accounts Department (DFA) in the Ministry of Health
between 2016 and 2019 and was in charge of running the day to day activities of
the Finance & Accounts Department of the Ministry.
“The university was incorporated on
6th October, 2021 with the wife and children of the first respondent as the
directors and guarantors of the university but without the first respondent’s
name.
“Apart from the funds deposited to
secure the bank guarantee of the university, the first respondent funded the
acquisition of the land on which the University was built as well as the
buildings and structures on it.
“The first respondent is also the
owner of Gwasmyen International Hotel Events & Recreational Centre Ltd and
Gwasmyen Water and Juice Company Nig. Ltd.
“While registering the Hotel with the
Corporate Affairs Commission, he used his wife and son as the directors and
shareholders of the companies.”
No comments:
Post a Comment