March 26, (THEWILL) — The Federal High Court in Abuja has delivered a decisive ruling, ordering the final forfeiture of N400 million linked to former Air Vice Marshal Mikail Abdulraheem Babatunde to the Federal Government.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who granted the order, held that the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was meritorious and met all legal requirements for the forfeiture.
A CTC of the ruling, delivered on March 17, 2026, sighted on Thursday, declared, “It is hereby ordered as follows: that the applicant has satisfied the condition for grant of order sought and accordingly the application is hereby granted as prayed.”
The court further declared:
“That an order of final forfeiture is hereby made by this honourable court forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the sum of four hundred million naira (N400,000,000.00) paid at the instance of Air Vice Marshal Abdulraheem Mikail Babatunde to Cosgrove Investment Limited which is reasonably suspected to be the proceeds of unlawful activities.”
The EFCC, through its counsel, Abba Muhammed, SAN, had approached the court via a motion on notice marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2710/2025, filed on February 3, 2026, seeking the forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
Muhammed argued that the funds were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and that the court possessed the statutory powers to grant the reliefs sought.
He noted that an earlier interim forfeiture order was granted on December 31, 2025, and published in a national daily on January 8, 2026, inviting interested parties to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
According to the EFCC, no individual or entity came forward to contest the interim order or justify the legitimacy of the funds, thereby paving the way for the final forfeiture.
In an affidavit supporting the motion, an EFCC investigating officer, Abubakar Kwaido, disclosed that the commission received intelligence on the acquisition of luxury properties by public officials and private individuals using unlicensed bureau de change operators to allegedly launder illicit funds.
He said investigations uncovered a property located at House No. CC13, Chatteaux Estate, Wuse II, Abuja—a six-bedroom luxury mansion valued at N400 million—linked to transactions involving Cosgrove Investment Limited and Aeronautical Engineering & Technical Services Limited (AETSL).
Kwaido explained that AETSL, a company established to develop in-country maintenance capabilities for Nigerian Air Force aircraft and related equipment, had board members drawn from within the Air Force, adding that Abdulraheem served in the organisation between 2012 and 2014.
The investigator further revealed that AETSL transferred a total of N122 million in two tranches—N100 million on December 23, 2013, and N22 million on January 21, 2014—to a company allegedly linked to Abdulraheem, Mofaza-Mafoz Nigeria Limited, with documentary evidence presented before the court.
The EFCC maintained that the financial trail and associated transactions raised reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity, justifying the forfeiture.
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