Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo, has ordered the final forfeiture of the multi-million-naira Sunflower Hotel Ltd in Kaduna State to the Federal Government.
The property has been linked to Professor Vincent Ado Tenebe, the former Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
The ruling, issued on Tuesday, follows a formal application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for final forfeiture of the asset.
Justice Ekwo, in delivering his judgment, declared, “Order is hereby made forfeiting the property set out in the attached schedule, found in possession of the respondent, as properties reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities, to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
This decision comes after an initial interim forfeiture order was granted on February 16, in which the court directed the EFCC to publicize the order in a national newspaper and on its website within 14 days. This was done to invite any claimants to the property to present themselves.
The proceedings were backed by an affidavit filed by Dare Opeyemi, an EFCC operative within the Economic Governance Section. The affidavit states that the EFCC initiated its investigation in December 2022 after receiving intelligence regarding conspiracy, theft, diversion of public funds, and criminal breach of trust involving Monday Onyeme, former Chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, and Adamu Danlami, owner of Crossbill International Ltd. Both individuals are currently at large.
Onyeme, who formerly held the position of NOUN Bursar, allegedly conspired with other staff members to misappropriate funds, transferring substantial amounts to companies in which he held interests, with Crossbill International Ltd receiving a significant portion of these diverted resources.
The investigation revealed that funds misappropriated from NOUN were transferred by Crossbill International Ltd to other entities, including Wanone Investment Ltd, Tanadi Ltd, Namutane Foundation, and notably, Sunflower Hotel Ltd.
The EFCC provided bank statements from companies linked to Tenebe, which detailed the flow of funds used in the construction of Sunflower Hotel Ltd.
Records indicate that N275,081,896.09, traced to Tenebe’s account, was utilized to acquire and complete the hotel property, originally an incomplete structure acquired from his brother-in-law in Kaduna.
Although Tenebe was not listed as a director or shareholder of Sunflower Hotel Ltd, he allegedly controlled the funds used to complete the property.
Following the interim forfeiture order, the EFCC published the notice on March 5 and filed an affidavit confirming compliance. No claims of ownership were submitted during the notice period.
In its final motion, the EFCC argued that it was in the public interest to formalize the forfeiture, allowing the Federal Government to assume control of the property on behalf of NOUN. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/33/2024, names the EFCC as the applicant, with Sunflower Hotel Ltd, located at Sunflower Crescent, Unguwan Maigero Road, Narayi, Kaduna, as the respondent.
