Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday granted an application by the Independent Corrupt Pratices Commission, ICPC, to temporarily take over the expansive land approved for Goodluck Jonathan Legacy Model Housing Estate.
Justice Mohammed Umar granted the application after ICPC’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, moved a motion exparte to that effect.
Justice Umar held that the interim forfeiture of the multi- billion naira assets approved by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, shall be pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The anti-corruption agency, in the motion ex-parte marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1124/2025, listed FMBN as the sole respondent.
The commission sought an order “temporarily forfeiting Plot No 5 in Cadastral Zone D12, Kaba District, Abuja measuring approximately 122015.80m2 and valued at N1,944,375,000.00.
“It also sought an order temporarily forfeiting Plot No 4 in Cadastral Zone D12, Kaba District, Abuja, measuring approximately 157198.30m2 and valued at N3,340,500,000.”
The lands were suspected of being proceeds of an unlawful activity.
It equally sought an order directing the commission to take over and secure the said immoveable property from being converted to personal use or sold off to unsuspecting members of the public.
The ICPC sought an order directing the commission to publish a notice in any national newspaper for interested person(s) to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
Giving 14 grounds why the application should be granted, the agency said the alleged assets were allocated by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, freely for the construction of 962 residential housing units through the FMBN.
An affidavit deposed to by an ICPC officer, Iliya Marcus, averred that the commission received an intelligence report that FMBN engaged a private developer to construct 962 residential housing units under the National Housing Fund Scheme.
According to him, the commission launched a discreet preliminary investigation into the said intelligence report and discovered the following: FMBN requested and got approval to commence the construction of “Goodluck Jonathan Legacy Model Housing Estate” on July 30, 2012.
Marcus said following the approval, a framework between FMBN and Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited was entered into on January 27, 2012.
He said sequel to the said agreement, the bank appointed a consultant for the project vide a letter dated February 1, 2012.
He said the appointment of the consultant was to monitor the housing project on behalf of FMBN, to enable the bank pay the developer.
He said investigation revealed that FMBN sought and obtained a loan facility of $65 million from Ecobank Limited for the construction of the housing units through Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited, a private company for the benefit of low income earners.
He said the tenure of the project was 18 months.
Marcus said FMBN through the then managing director paid Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited, the sum of N3,785,000,000.00 as drawdown on November 22, 2012.
He said the money was paid as drawdown without evidence of registration with the Real Estate Developers Association by Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited as a pre-condition for such payment.
“Investigation also revealed that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria has paid the full project amount of $65 million to Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited without a single house on the project site,” he said.
He said though FMBN was established by the federal government to provide affordable housing support for Nigerians, from actionable intelligence available to the commission, the property developer was making clandestine moves to sell off the said immovable property to unsuspecting members of the public.
He said if this is done, it would be difficult to recover the plots of land from them.
The officer added that if the application was not granted, “the way the $65 million was dissipated without anything to show for it, the land will follow the same way.”
When the matter was called yesterday, Akponimisingha informed the court of the exparte, seeking the interim forfeiture of the two plots of land.
According to him, the land in question was part of a massive housing project initiated during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said the project was reportedly awarded to the developer, said to have received $65 million, equivalent to over ₦14 billion at the time, from FMBN.
The estate, he said, was to be named in honour of the former president.
Akponimosin, however, told the court that no single house had been constructed on the land since the funds were disbursed.
He stated that the property, presently, now worth over ₦200 billion, and the promoters of the company, including some American nationals, had allegedly fled and remained unreachable.
He explained that though Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited is already facing trial before Justice James Omotosho of a sister court, the forfeiture request was a separate matter aimed at securing the land for the benefit of Nigerians and FMBN.
He urged the court to grant the plea.
In his ruling, Justice Umar granted the interim forfeiture and questioned why the entire project sum was paid upfront without corresponding progress on the ground.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until October 27 for report of compliance.(NAN)
