Mr. Andrew Yakubu held the position of GMD at the NNPC between 2012 and 2014. The EFCC, represented by its legal counsel, Mr. Faruk Abdullah, informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that it had appealed a judgment dismissing a money laundering case against Mr. Yakubu.
The EFCC argued that since the confiscated funds are currently a subject of ongoing litigation before the appellate court, returning them to Mr. Yakubu would be premature. In the same vein, the EFCC requested the high court to reject Mr. Yakubu's application seeking the return of the funds.
It can be recall that the EFCC conducted a raid on Mr. Yakubu's guest house in Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State in 2017 based on a tip-off from a whistleblower and during the raid, $9.7 million and £74,000 were discovered concealed in a fireproof safe within the house.
Subsequently, the Federal High Court in Kano issued an interim order on February 13, 2017, directing the forfeiture of the recovered funds to the federal government. This forfeiture order was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Kaduna in 2018.
However, during his money laundering trial, Mr. Yakubu contended that the seized funds constituted gifts he had received on various occasions.
He told the court that people gave him monetary gifts on occasions such as birthdays, thanksgiving services, and other celebrations he hosted after he left service.
