A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the interim forfeiture of a private university – NOK University, Kaduna, including every structure in it – allegedly acquired unlawfully by a former Director of Finance and Accounts at the Federal Ministry of Health, Anthony Hassan.
Some of the identified structures in the university include the Senate building, the ICT building, Faculty of Medicine building, Deanery building, two academic buildings, faculty hall and all other buildings owned by Hassan in Kachia, Kaduna State.
In a ruling on Wednesday, Justice Zainab Abubakar equally ordered the interim forfeiture of Gwasmyen Water Factory; Gwasmyen Event Centre and Gwasmyen International Hotel also said to be owned by Hassan.
Justice Abubakar’s ruling was on an ex-parte application marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/688/2022 filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which was argued on Wednesday by its lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho.
The judge ordered the EFCC to publish the interim forfeiture order in national newspaper within 14 days for interested parties to appear and show cause why the affected properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
She adjourned further proceedings in the case till October 5 this year.
The EFCC alleged in papers it filed in court, that Hassan diverted public funds with which he purportedly acquired the identified assets.
It added that Hassan diverted the funds running into billions of naira through the FG’s “Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS)”
The EFCC stated that “Anthony 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; the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs from 2009 to 2015; the Ministry of Niger Delta in 2015; the Ministry of Youth and Sport Development from 2015 to 2016; the Ministry of Health from 2016 to 2019, and the Ministry of Works and Housing from 2019 to 2020.
The Nation