Efforts by the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, to stop the interim forfeiture of some money in her accounts to the federal government were stopped on Friday.
The money traced to her accounts are $5.8 million ($5,842,316) and N2.4 billion (N2,421,953,522), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had got a Federal High Court order for their interim forfeiture.
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Patience Jonathan’s lawyer had, however, approached the Court of Appeal to set aside the order of the High Court and declare unconstitutional the provisions of Sections 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006.
But in its ruling on Friday, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal upheld the order of interim forfeiture of the said money.
Justice Mojeed Owoade, in his lead judgement said the application by the former First Lady lacked merit.
During the trial at the High Court, the interim forfeiture of the money in the Skye Bank Account 211001712 of the former First Lady was on the basis that the suspicion that it was a proceed of unlawful activities was strong.
Similarly, the interim forfeiture of the money in an Eco Bank Account 202200760 in the name of La Wari Furniture and Baths Limited was granted following a similar request by the EFCC.
