- INAHURAT accuses EFCC of ignoring court orders on interim forfeiture of widow’s Abuja properties despite valid legal titles.
- Court rulings from December 2024 and March 2025 directed property seizure, but enforcement is yet to be carried out.
A civil rights group, Initiative Against Human Rights Abuse and Torture, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to enforce court orders on the interim forfeiture of properties allegedly stolen from a 79-year-old widow, Hajia Colleen Mero Yesufu.
The properties, located in the Guzape and Katampe districts of Abuja, are reportedly at the centre of a land fraud scandal involving officers of the Nigeria Police Force and the EFCC.
The group made its position known during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
The director of legal services at the organisation, Maxwell Opara, said the matter had dragged on despite existing court rulings in favour of the widow.
Opara said the woman was the rightful owner of Plot 4022 in Guzape District and Plots 1861, 1862, and 1863 in Katampe District.
He said the properties were backed with valid titles and evidence of full payment.
According to him, the plots were fraudulently resold by a suspect said to have ties with top-ranking police officers.
He expressed concern that the EFCC had failed to enforce interim forfeiture orders issued by Justice Emeka Nwite on December 20, 2024, and Justice Obiora Egwuatu on March 7, 2025.
“The EFCC must immediately implement the Federal High Court’s interim forfeiture orders and ensure full compliance with judicial directives,” he said.
Opara accused the police of blocking lawful investigations, using forged documents, and illegally guarding the suspect.
He said, “The Nigeria Police Force must immediately and unconditionally withdraw all armed personnel assigned to protect the suspect on Hajia Yesufu’s properties.”
He called for an independent investigation into a forged police report that was allegedly presented in court to back the suspect’s claims.
“The actions of all police officers who provided illegal protection and prevented a lawful arrest by the EFCC must be thoroughly investigated,” he added.
He said the Police Service Commission, Ministry of Police Affairs, and Office of the National Security Adviser should take up the matter urgently.
“All individuals found culpable, regardless of their status or connections, must be held fully accountable under the law,” he said.
He warned that failure to act could trigger protests by victims of similar land fraud.
“We, along with Hajia Yesufu and the estimated 60 other victims of this injustice, will personally lead a protest to the Presidential Villa, demanding justice for all affected Nigerians,” he said.
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