Polaris Bank domiciles ex-Zamfara governor’s ‘corrupt money’ in local, foreign currency, as Court orders final forfeiture

The Federal High Court in Abuja in a case brought before it found the Polaris Bank having various sums of money corruptly gotten by the former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari domiciled with it.

The Court having listened to the case by the prosecutor, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) ordered a final forfeiture of the money with Polaris Bank.

The said funds which were in local and hard currencies include $56,056.75 in Polaris Bank; N12.9 million, N11.2 million, $301,319.99; N217, and $388.04.

Before she ordered the final forfeiture, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, in a judgment, held that the former governor had not shown good cause why the order sought by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) should not be granted.

The anti-graft agency had instituted a suit, praying the court for Abdilaziz Yari to show cause why the money under investigation were not proceeds of unlawful activity.

While Yari was the 1st respondent in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/916/2019, his two companies; Kayatawa Nigeria Ltd and B. T. Oil and Gas Nigeria Ltd were 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo had, on Aug. 16. 2019, granted the order for interim forfeiture of the assets in an exparte motion brought by the commission’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha.

Also, the sum of $311,872.15 in Zenith Bank accounts in the name of Yari and his companies was also ordered forfeited, but Polaris Bank has been notorious in domiciling funds of unlawful activity which have been a subject of litigation with Bank having to be frequenting Nigerian Courts.

CAPITAL POST recalls that Polaris Bank which was then former Skye Bank suffered reputation when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) found the sum of $429,000 million and another $4,136,000 belonging to the wife of the former President Goodluck Jonathan domicied with it.

The said money was ordered forfeited the Federal High in Lagos in October 2018 in a motion presided by Justice Mojisola Olatoregun.

The EFCC under the erstwhile Chairman, Ibrahim Magu succeeded in the prosecution and frozen the accounts at the beginning of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first regime.