A Federal High Court sitting in Kano presided over by  Justice Zainab Abubakar on Monday ordered the forfeiture of the sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 recovered from a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,  Andrew Yakubu to the  federal government.

The order was sequel to an ex parte application by the EFCC seeking an interim forfeiture of the recovered money to the federal government.

The ex parte application was moved by Salihu Sani, counsel for the applicant.

In her ruling, Justice Abubakar held “that the sum of $9,772,000 (Nine  Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Two Thousand United States Dollars)  and £74,000 (Seventy Four Thousand Pound Sterling) which are now in  the custody of the applicant (EFCC) are in the interim forfeited to  the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

It would be recalled that on February 3, 2017, operatives of the  EFCC had stormed a building belonging to the former NNPC boss and  recovered a staggering sum of $9,772,000 and £74,000 stashed in a huge fire proof safe.

On  February 8, 2017, Yakubu reported to the Commission’s Kano Zonal  Office where he admitted being the owner of both the house and the  money recovered. He was quoted by the EFCC as saying that the monies were gifts.

Yakubu is still in the custody of the commission and is said to be assisting the investigation.