Abuja: The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted an application by the ICPC to temporarily take over the expansive land approved for the Goodluck Jonathan Legacy Model Housing Estate.
Justice Mohammed Umar granted the application after ICPC’s lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, moved a motion ex parte to that effect.
Justice Umar held that the interim forfeiture of the multi-billion naira assets approved by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) shall be pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The anti-corruption agency, in the motion ex parte marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1124/2025, listed FMBN as the sole respondent.
The commission sought an order “temporarily forfeiting Plot No. 5 in Cadastral Zone D12, Kaba District, Abuja, measuring approximately 122015.80m2 and valued at N1,944,375,000.00 (One Billion, Nine Hundred Forty-Four Million, Three Hundred and Seventy-Five Thousand Naira).”
It also sought an order temporarily forfeiting Plot No. 4 in Cadastral Zone D12, Kaba District, Abuja, measuring approximately 157198.30m2 and valued at N3,340,500,000.00 (Three Billion, Three Hundred Forty Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira).”
The lands were suspected of being proceeds of an unlawful activity.
It equally sought an order directing the commission to take over and secure the said immovable property from being converted to personal use or sold to unsuspecting members of the public.
The ICPC further sought an order directing the commission to publish a notice in a national newspaper, inviting interested persons to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Providing 14 grounds why the application should be granted, the agency stated that the alleged assets were allocated by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) freely for the construction of 962 residential housing units through the FMBN.
In the affidavit deposed to by an ICPC officer, Iliya Marcus, it was averred that the commission received an intelligence report stating that the FMBN had engaged a private developer to construct 962 residential housing units under the National Housing Fund Scheme.
According to him, the commission, in its usual characteristics of proactiveness, launched a discreet preliminary investigation into the said intelligence report and discovered the following:
The FMBN requested and got approval to commence construction of “Goodluck Jonathan Legacy Model Housing Estate” on July 30, 2012.
Marcus stated that following approval, a framework agreement was entered into between FMBN and Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited on January 27, 2012.
He stated that, after the said framework agreement, the bank appointed a consultant for the project via a letter dated February 1, 2012.
He stated that the appointment of the consultant was to assist in monitoring the housing project on behalf of the FMBN, reporting milestones to enable the bank to pay the developer of the proposed estate.
He stated that the investigation revealed that FMBN had sought and obtained a loan facility of $65 million from Ecobank Limited for the construction of 962 residential housing units through Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited, a private company, for the benefit of low-income earners.
He stated that the project’s tenure was 18 months.
Marcus stated that the FMBN, through its then managing director, paid Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited the sum of N3,785,000,000.00 as a drawdown on November 22, 2012.
He stated that the alleged sum of money was paid as a drawdown without evidence of registration with the Real Estate Developers Association by Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited as a precondition for such payment.
“Investigation also revealed that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria has paid the full project amount of 65 million dollars to Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited without a single house on the project site,” he said.
He stated that although the Federal Government established the FMBN to provide affordable housing support for Nigerians, based on actionable intelligence available to the commission, the property developer, Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited, was allegedly making clandestine moves to sell the said immovable property to unsuspecting members of the public.
He said that if this is done, it would be difficult to recover the plots of land from them.
The officer added that if the application was not granted, “the way the 65 million dollars was dissipated without anything to show for, the land will follow the same way.”
When the matter was called on Wednesday, Akponimisingha informed the court of the ex parte application, seeking the interim forfeiture of the two plots of land.
According to the ICPC lawyer, the land in question was part of a massive housing project initiated during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He stated that the project was reportedly awarded to the developer, who was said to have received $65 million, equivalent to over ₦14 billion at the time, from FMBN.
The estate, he said, was to be named in honour of the former president.
Akponimosin, however, told the court that no single house had been constructed on the land since the funds were disbursed.
He stated that the property is currently worth over ₦200 billion, and the promoters of the company, including some American nationals, had allegedly fled and remained unreachable.
He explained that though Good Earth Power Nigeria Limited is already facing trial before Justice James Omotosho of a sister court, the forfeiture request was a separate matter aimed at securing the land for the benefit of Nigerians and FMBN.
He urged the court to grant the plea.
In his ruling, Justice Umar granted the interim forfeiture and questioned why the entire project sum was paid upfront without corresponding progress on the ground.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until October 27 for a report of compliance.
