It is no more news that Nigeria’s former Senate President, Abubakar Olusola Saraki, has disgracefully fallen out of power; in fact, he was the biggest victim of the 2019 general elections, as his famed political dynasty in Kwara State literally crumbled like a pack of badly arranged cards.
The new development now about his travails in recent times in many courts of competent jurisdiction, which jointly and severally gave apt rulings on the forfeiture of some of his plum properties scattered around the country, thus, for fear of these forfeitures, embattled Saraki has quickly rushed to sell some of his very exotic cars and wonders-on-wheels at very cheap and unreasonable prices.
As the Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos has fixed Thursday, December 5 to take arguments on whether or not two Ikoyi houses belonging to ex-Senate President, Bukola Saraki, should be permanently forfeited to the Nigerian government, there is an unprecedented bazaar going on in the many homes of the former senate president, as many intending buyers have been jostling to partake in the unexpected Manna that is falling from heaven a la Bukola Saraki.
Eye witness accounts said the cars mostly Mercedes Benz of latest editions and brands, numbering over 20 and other unspecified deluxe items of the nouveau riche are being spiritedly put up for sale before the December 5 hearing and possible judgment on the anticipated forfeiture.
Justice Mohammed Liman had on October 21, 2019, ordered the temporary forfeiture of the houses, “lying at and known as No. 17A McDonald Road, Ikoyi,” to the government.
The judge had ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to publish the temporary forfeiture order in at least one national newspaper.
At the resumed proceedings days back, the EFCC lawyer, Abdullahi Idris, told the judge that the order was published in The Nation newspaper as ordered by the court.
The judge thus fixed December 5 to hear from Saraki and any other party interested in the long protracted case.
The EFCC had told the judge that it reasonably suspected that the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities by Saraki and his cohorts.
It alleged, in a supporting affidavit, that Saraki, who served two terms as Kwara State governor between 2003 and 2011, “withdrew over N12bn cash from the account of the Kwara State Government and paid same into his personal accounts domiciled in Access and Zenith banks through one of his personal assistants, Abdul Adama, at different intervals.”
