The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday set aside an interim forfeiture order issued against properties and funds linked to Jimoh Olasunkanmi Yisawu, a former managing director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company. The court also dismissed the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking the final forfeiture of those assets. In his ruling, Judge James Omotosho held that the EFCC failed to establish that the assets were proceeds of unlawful activities.
Judge Omotosho made the ruling after carefully considering the evidence presented by both parties, according to a report by Nairametrics.
Mr Yisawu served with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for 32 years, from 1991 to 2023. He was managing director of the Warri refinery for about 10 months, from November 2022 to September 2023.
The EFCC had alleged that Mr Yisawu's assets were disproportionate to his known lawful income. It argued that he acquired the properties using proceeds of unlawful activities linked to his tenure at the NNPC. However, Mr Yisawu told the court that his salaries, allowances, and other lawful earnings enabled him to acquire the properties. He explained that he bought two Lagos properties through loans and lawful earnings between 2015 and 2020, several years before his appointment as the refinery's managing director.
Judge Omotosho accepted Mr Yisawu's explanation and held that his evidence outweighed that of the EFCC. He noted that Mr Yisawu's bank statements showed transactions exceeding N1.5 billion, which he considered reasonable given his 32 years of service. The court further noted that Mr Yisawu had declared his assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau and accepted his explanation that he bought treasury bills after retiring from service.
The EFCC said it began investigating Mr Yisawu after receiving intelligence in 2024 about alleged financial crimes involving officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited. The commission alleged that a provisional sum of $56 million was earmarked for the quick repair of the Warri refinery in 2022. Mr Yisawu, who chaired the provisional sum tender board, allegedly oversaw the project and awarded contracts to more than 20 local contractors. The EFCC also accused him of paying $900,000 to two Bureau de Change operators between 2021 and 2025, alleging the money was used to acquire properties in Lagos.
Mr Yisawu denied wrongdoing through his lawyer, Wale Balogun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who argued that he acquired the properties before becoming managing director. He also said neither the NNPC, its successor company, the refinery nor the contractor had complained about his handling of the project.
The forfeiture proceedings are separate from the criminal case against Mr Yisawu. Premium Times reported that the EFCC filed eight counts of money- laundering charge involving N1.339 billion against him. He pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned in July. The criminal trial, originally scheduled to begin in October, was subsequently fixed by Judge Inyang Ekwo for January 18, 19, and 20, 2027, for the commencement of trial.