COURT AFFIRMS FINAL SEIZURE OF ASSETS TIED TO RETIRED MAJOR GENERAL ATEWE

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By: Fasasi Hammad

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld a Federal High Court ruling ordering the final forfeiture of over N293.97 million, landed properties and investment assets linked to retired Major General Emmanuel Jebe Atewe to the Federal Government.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on July 22, 2026, the appellate court dismissed Atewe’s appeal and affirmed the earlier decision of Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, which granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) authority to permanently seize the assets.

The forfeited assets include N293.97 million in cash, 30,000 MTN-linked investment units held with Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, several properties in Abuja and a commercial property in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

According to the EFCC, investigations traced the assets to funds suspected to be proceeds of illegal activities, particularly the alleged diversion of money allocated to the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield.

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The commission said its probe revealed that about N8.537 billion released for the task force’s operations was allegedly diverted through a network of companies and individuals acting as proxies.

Investigators further alleged that billions of naira were paid to companies for services that were never rendered, with part of the funds subsequently used to acquire assets allegedly connected to Atewe through affiliated firms.

The EFCC also disclosed that N297 million traced to Cisco Nobots Limited was used in a property transaction in Port Harcourt, leading to the recovery of N290 million.

The Federal High Court had initially granted an interim forfeiture order before making it permanent after concluding that Atewe failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the source of the assets.

Challenging the ruling, Atewe argued that the forfeiture proceedings were invalid, citing provisions of the Armed Forces Act, the pendency of criminal charges against him and an alleged lack of jurisdiction by the trial court.

However, the Court of Appeal rejected all his arguments and ruled in favour of the EFCC.

The appellate court held that the protections provided under Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act apply only to serving military personnel and not retired officers, noting that Atewe had acknowledged his retirement in court documents.

The court also found that he failed to sufficiently establish the legitimate source of the assets, stating that his explanations did not adequately justify their acquisition.

On the claim that the forfeiture proceedings should not have commenced while a money laundering case against him was still pending, the court ruled that civil forfeiture actions can lawfully proceed alongside criminal proceedings.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed for lacking merit, and the order forfeiting the assets to the Federal Government was affirmed.