Air Marshal Mohammed Umar (retd), the Chief of Air Staff (CoAS) under former President Goodluck Jonathan, has temporarily forfeited five properties to the Federal Government.
The Punch reports that the properties include four mansions and a castle with a mosque adding that three of the properties are located in upscale Maitama and Asokoro in Abuja.
The other two properties, according to the report, are located in Kaduna and Kano.
The properties, according to the report, are: A six-bedroomed duplex with two-bedroomed ‘boys quarters’ located at 14 Vistula Close off Panama Street, Maitama which he allegedly bought for N700 million; a castle with a swimming pool and a mosque located at 1853 Denf Xiao Ping Street, Asokoro Extension which he allegedly purchased at N860 million and renovated at the cost of N66m in 2012.
Others include a four-bedroomed duplex with a ‘boys quarters’ located at Road 38, Street 2, Ministers’ Hill, Mabushi which he was said to have bought for N500 million; a three-bedroomed duplex and a three-bedroomed guest chalet located at 8 Kabala Road Unguwan Rimi, GRA, Kaduna state allegedly purchased at N80 million while between N75 million and N80 million was spent on the renovation.
Apart from these, the former CoAS is to forfeit a six-bedroomed duplex with ‘boys’ quarters’ and a two-bedroomed guest chalet located at 14 Audu Bako Way, Nasarawa GRA, Kano State.
The report said Justice JT Tsoho gave the ruling following an affidavit in support of the motion sworn to by Hammadama Bello and Sylvanus Tahir for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The judge also stopped anybody from disposing, conveying, mortgaging, leasing, sale or alienation of the assets or properties.
The judge also asked the chairman of the EFCC to appoint competent persons or firms to manage the assets and that the proceeds realised from them should be lodged in an interest-yielding account pending the conclusion of Umar’s trial.
The report said the judge ordered that the EFCC shall file an undertaking to compensate Umar if it turns out that the forfeiture order ought not to have been granted.
Umar, who served between September 2010 and 2012, is on trial before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of a Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja on charges of diverting N9.7 billion from the account of the Nigerian Air Force.
The former army chief is accused of diverting about N558 million from the Nigerian Air Force account monthly.
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