Court Orders Seizure of Multi-Million Hotel Tied to Former NOUN Vice-Chancellor
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that the Sunflower Hotel Ltd, a multi-million-naira property in Kaduna State, be permanently handed over to the Nigerian government. This hotel is linked to former Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Tenebe.
This decision came after a motion was filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on June 21, with the EFCC lawyer, F.O. Dibang, pushing for the final forfeiture. Justice Ekwo stated that the property would be forfeited to Nigeria as it is suspected to have been funded with illegally obtained money.
Earlier, on February 16, the court issued an interim order to preserve the hotel, allowing the EFCC to announce the order publicly so that any legitimate claimants could come forward.
According to a report from PUNCH, the EFCC began investigating in December 2022 after receiving information about the misuse of funds allegedly involving Monday Onyeme, former Chairman of Delta State’s Internal Revenue Board, and Adamu Danlami, who is still at large. The investigation revealed that Onyeme may have diverted NOUN funds to different companies, including Crossbill International Ltd.
Further probes linked Prof. Tenebe to this case, with about N275 million reportedly traced to his account, which was allegedly used to build Sunflower Hotel Ltd, a property he acquired from his brother-in-law in Kaduna. No one claimed ownership of the hotel during the public notice period, prompting the EFCC to finalize the forfeiture.
The case, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/33/2024, lists the EFCC as the applicant and Sunflower Hotel Ltd as the respondent.
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