A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the temporary forfeiture of $49,700 recovered from Dr. Nura Ali, the former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Sokoto State, following an alleged bribery scandal linked to the 2023 general elections. The ruling, delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, follows an ex-parte motion filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The ICPC, alongside the Department of State Services (DSS), had sought the forfeiture of the funds, which were allegedly obtained as proceeds of unlawful activity. The court granted the request, suspending any claims to the money for a period of 90 days while investigations continue. During this period, the funds will be held in an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The application, filed on December 24, 2024, outlined that the $49,700 was discovered during a search operation at Dr. Ali’s residence in Kano. ICPC and DSS operatives, acting on intelligence reports of bribery linked to Ali’s role as the INEC REC for Sokoto State, retrieved the money from the residence. The commission argues that this sum is not part of Dr. Ali’s legitimate earnings and is suspected to be bribe money.
In court, the ICPC’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, stated that the former INEC official had confessed in an extra-judicial statement to receiving the funds, allegedly from political figures, including the former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, and Senator Aliyu Wamakko. Akponimisingha emphasized that INEC does not pay its staff or RECs in foreign currency, further bolstering the claim that the money was ill-gotten.
The court has also ordered the publication of a notice in national newspapers, inviting any parties with a legitimate claim to the money to present their case within the 90-day investigation period. The case is set to be revisited on January 30 for a compliance report on the media publication, with a further hearing scheduled for March 31.
Dr. Ali, who had previously attempted to reclaim the funds through letters to the DSS, has yet to offer an explanation for the origin of the money that aligns with legal requirements.