Court Orders Final Forfeiture of ₦5bn Shares Linked to Ex‑Army Properties Chief
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, has granted an order for the final forfeiture of shares valued at over ₦5 billion. The assets were traced to former Group Managing Director of Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), Maj. Gen. Umar Mohammed (rtd), and businessman Kayode Oladipupo Filani.
Delivering the ruling, the court upheld an application brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which alleged that the 245,568,137 units of shares were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities perpetrated during Mohammed’s tenure as head of NAPL.
EFCC counsel, Hanatu Kofanaisa, informed the court that a Special Court Martial had earlier convicted Mohammed on 14 of 18 counts, including stealing and related offences. She averred that the statutory requirements for final forfeiture, including mandatory publication in a national daily were fulfilled without any objection lodged.
In granting the application, Justice Dipeolu found that the EFCC had discharged the burden of proof and accordingly ordered the shares permanently forfeited to the Federal Government for the benefit of Nigerian Army Properties Limited.
The motion was brought pursuant to Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006. Court records show the shares were held via Rowet Capital Management Ltd and Resort Securities & Trust Ltd, in the name of Awhua Resources Ltd—an entity linked to Mohammed.
The forfeited portfolio includes millions of shares in prominent Nigerian companies, such as Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Flour Mills Plc, Conoil Plc, Oando Plc, Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, NAHCO, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Transcorp, Union Bank of Nigeria, and Unilever Nigeria Plc.
EFCC investigations revealed that, while serving as NAPL MD, Mohammed unlawfully disposed of army‑owned properties and channelled the proceeds into substantial stock acquisitions to conceal the illicit origin of the funds.
In a supporting affidavit, EFCC investigator Nwike Fortune deposed that the forfeited shares were acquired, wholly or in part, with proceeds from the illegal sale of NAPL assets. The court further noted that EFCC had previously secured the forfeiture of five properties linked to Mohammed following his military court conviction.
The Special Court Martial, convened by the Nigerian Army on 4 October 2023, found Mohammed guilty of multiple counts—including theft, forgery, conspiracy, and unauthorised diversion of army property—while acquitting him on certain other charges. Notably, the convictions covered misappropriation of over $1.4 million in jetty usage fees, theft of $430,800 in domiciliary deposits, and misappropriation of ₦74 million from an Ikoyi property sale.
