A former Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited, Maj. Gen. U.M. Mohammed (retd), has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to set aside the order of final forfeiture granted in favour of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, insisting that the 246,305,544 shares in dispute were legitimately acquired.
The EFCC had secured the order on August 26, 2025, claiming the shares, worth about N5 billion, were purchased with funds diverted from fraudulent sales of NAPL properties during Mohammed’s tenure. The investments cited include significant holdings in Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Conoil Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Eterna Plc, Flour Mills Plc, Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Oando Plc, University Press Plc and Vitafoam Nigeria Plc.
The anti-graft agency maintained that the forfeiture was made under Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006. However, in a motion on notice, Mohammed argued that the shares were not proceeds of any unlawful activity, stating they were acquired years before his appointment as head of NAPL in October 2015.
In an affidavit in support of the application, deponent Joseph Effiong said the shares were purchased between September 3, 2007, and September 1, 2015. “He was posted to Nigerian Army Properties Limited as the Managing Director on October 15, 2015, which was shown to me and marked as Exhibit UM2 is the posting history of ex-Maj Gen UM Mohammed. The shares listed in schedules A, B and C to the motion ex parte filed on April 29, 2025, do not represent proceeds of any crime or unlawful activities. Shares in Schedules A, B and C were purchased between September 3, 2007, and September 1, 2015, long before ex-major general UM Mohammed was posted to NAPL as the managing director,” Effiong said.
The ex-general is also contesting the process that led to the forfeiture, alleging that his affidavit to show cause filed on July 29 was ignored and that he was denied a fair hearing when the case, originally scheduled for October 8, was brought before a vacation judge without notice to him or his counsel. He argued: “That the final forfeiture order, having been granted in favour of Nigerian Army Properties Limited, is not in compliance with the provisions of Section 17 (1) Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Fraud Offences Act, 2006. The matter was initially adjourned to the 8th October 2025 for the hearing of the application for final forfeiture by Justice C.J. Aneke. That there was no urgency for the case to be transferred to any vacation judge. That no notice or communication whatsoever was given to the applicant or his counsel. Non-service of hearing notice is a denial of the constitutional right of the party interested to a fair hearing/fair trial. The final forfeiture order was made in ignorance of the affidavit to show cause date and file on July 29. The affidavit to show cause was not considered.”
Mohammed further alleged that the EFCC failed to comply with statutory timelines, noting that it did not file an application for a final forfeiture order within 60 days after the interim order of May 7, 2025, as required under the Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022. He maintained that Section 17(1) of the law makes it mandatory for any party interested in the property to show cause within 14 days, which was not followed.
The retired general is seeking an order to set aside the entire proceedings in Suit No: FHC/L/MISC/404/ and to overturn the final forfeiture of the shares. The court has yet to fix a date for hearing his application.
