A Kwara state High Court has ordered the former Senior Special Assistant on Community Intervention to the Kwara State Governor, Kayode Oyin-Zubair to forfeit two tractors and two tricycles to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Oyin-Zubair, who served between 2020 and 2023, had allegedly approached SEAP to finance the procurement of 100 tricycles and 100 mini-buses for members of the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
SEAP disbursed N192 million for the scheme, but investigations allegedly revealed that N72 million in repayments made by the beneficiaries was diverted and used to acquire two tractors and two tricycles in Oyin-Zubair’s name.
But, Mr. Kayode Oyin Zubair, has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, challenging the ruling of the Kwara State High Court which ordered the forfeiture of his two tractors and two tricycles to the Federal Government.
The appeal, marked CA/IL/2025 and filed on Friday, July 25th, 2025, is contesting the entire decision delivered by Hon. Justice H.A. Saleeman in Suit No. KWS/294M/2024, which granted a final order of forfeiture in favour of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Zubair, through his legal counsel, Dr. Adeola Omotunde, SAN, is asking the appellate court to set aside the ruling, citing grave procedural irregularities and alleged disobedience of court orders by the EFCC.
Dr. Omotunde said, “The appellant’s major contention is that the EFCC failed to comply with a crucial condition attached to the interim forfeiture order made by the lower court on November 19, 2024, which mandated the Commission to publish a notice of forfeiture in The Nation newspaper.
“The failure to comply with this order, according to the appeal, renders the entire forfeiture proceedings null and void”.
The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has secured the final forfeiture of two tractors and two tricycles from Mr. Oyin-Zubair
EFCC operatives however recovered the items from a warehouse along Fate Road in Ilorin and secured an interim forfeiture order in November 2024.
Despite legal opposition from Oyin-Zubair’s counsel, the Commission’s counsel, Mustapha Kaigama, presented compelling evidence showing that the assets were purchased with proceeds of unlawful activity.
However, the presiding judge, Justice Haleema Saleeman in her ruling in Ilorin at the weekend , dismissed an application filed by Oyin-Zubair seeking to set aside an earlier interim forfeiture order on the grounds that it was obtained through misrepresentation.
The judge upheld the arguments of the EFCC and granted a final forfeiture of the items valued at N57.4 million to the Self Reliance Economic Advancement Programme, SEAP, the complainant in the case.
Justice Saleeman, in her final ruling, granted permanent forfeiture of the properties to SEAP, bringing the case to a decisive end.
Meanwhile, a former Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor on Community Development, Mr. Kayode Oyin Zubair, has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, challenging the ruling of the Kwara State High Court which ordered the forfeiture of his two tractors and two tricycles to the Federal Government.
The appeal, marked CA/IL/2025 and filed on Friday, July 25th, 2025, is contesting the entire decision delivered by Hon. Justice H.A. Saleeman in Suit No. KWS/294M/2024, which granted a final order of forfeiture in favour of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Zubair, through his legal counsel, Dr. Adeola Omotunde, SAN, is asking the appellate court to set aside the ruling, citing grave procedural irregularities and alleged disobedience of court orders by the EFCC.
Dr. Omotunde said, “The appellant’s major contention is that the EFCC failed to comply with a crucial condition attached to the interim forfeiture order made by the lower court on November 19, 2024, which mandated the Commission to publish a notice of forfeiture in The Nation newspaper.
“The failure to comply with this order, according to the appeal, renders the entire forfeiture proceedings null and void.
“The lower court erred in law by refusing to set aside its interim order of forfeiture despite the Respondent’s failure to comply with a clear and unambiguous order of court,” the appeal reads in part”.
He further argued that the High Court lacked the jurisdiction to make a final forfeiture order in circumstances where the Respondent was in contempt of court, insisting that a party in disobedience of a court order should not benefit from the discretionary powers of the same court.
“The court’s decision has occasioned a miscarriage of justice, and we are urging the Court of Appeal to intervene to protect the sanctity of judicial orders,” Dr. Omotunde, SAN, said.
The Appellant has expressed confidence in the judiciary to rectify what he described as a “travesty of due process.”
The matter is expected to come up for hearing in the coming weeks.
Hammed Shittu
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