Court grants final forfeiture of tractors, auto rickshaws illegally acquired by ex aide to former Kwara gov

Justice Haleema Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin, has ordered the final forfeiture of two tractors and two auto rickshaws acquired by Kayode Oyin-Zubair, a former Special Assistant on Community Intervention to ex-Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed in favour of Self Reliance Economic Advancement Programme, SEAP, in the state.

In giving the ruling, Justice Saleeman dismissed an application filed by Oyin-Zubair, seeking to set aside an earlier interim forfeiture order on the items and upheld the arguments of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC’s counsel, Mustapha Kaigama in favour of the applicant, SEAP that the assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activity. The forfeited items are valued at N57.4 million.

Oyin-Zubair, who served as assistant between 2020 and 2023 to former governor Ahmed, had approached SEAP to finance the procurement of 100 auto rickshaws, commonly called “tricycles” and 100 mini-buses for members of the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN). While SEAP disbursed N192 million for the purchases, investigations revealed that N72 million in repayments made by the beneficiaries was diverted and used by Oyin-Zubair to acquire two tractors and two auto rickshaws.

The EFCC recovered the illegally acquired items in a warehouse along Fate Road, Ilorin, Kwara state and secured an order for their interim forfeiture in November 2024