The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says the final forfeiture of $919,202.07 fraudulently kept in an interest-yielding bank account by some staff of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt in Rivers State has been retrieved.
This was disclosed in a statement made available on the agency’s website on Thursday.
The release state that the staff of the Federal High Court involved in the illegal transaction includes the Chief Registrar and Deputy Registrar of the Court.
According to ICPC, the fund was recovered from three respondents including the Chief Registrar, the Deputy Registrar of the Federal High Court, and the Station Road, Port-Harcourt Branch of Union Bank of Nigeria.
The anti-graft agency added that the recovery followed a petition against some officials of the court for alleged violation of ICPC Act 2000, the Commission’s special investigation team uncovered the money, “being the sum of confiscated, value and sold vessel hidden in a bank account”.
ICPC said an ex-parte motion for an Interim Order of Forfeiture of the fund was granted earlier in November 2020 following an investigation into the matter.
Ruling on the application for final forfeiture of the fund, Mohammed Sani, a Judge at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt said the commission had justified with evidence reasons for final forfeiture of the contentious money.
Sani ordered Union Bank, Station Road Branch, Port-Harcourt to pay the money into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account as it belongs to the FG.
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