By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin
Justice Haleema Saleeman of the Kwara State High Court has ordered a former Special Assistant on Community Intervention to Kwara State governor, Kayode Oyin-Zubair, to forfeit two tractors and two tricycles to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Oyin-Zubair, who served between 2020 and 2023, had allegedly approached the Self Reliance Economic Advancement Programme, SEAP, to finance the procurement of 100 tricycles and 100 mini-buses for members of the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria, TOAN, National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN. SEAP reportedly disbursed N192 million for the scheme, but investigations allegedly revealed that N72 million in repayments made by the beneficiaries was diverted and used to acquire two tractors and two tricycles in Oyin-Zubair’s name.
Following a petition by SEAP, the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC headed to court and secured final forfeiture of two tractors and two tricycles from Mr. Oyin-Zubair.
EFCC operatives recovered the items from a warehouse along Fate Road in Ilorin and secured an interim forfeiture order in November 2024.
Despite legal opposition from Oyin-Zubair’s counsel, the commission’s counsel, Mustapha Kaigama, presented compelling evidence showing that the assets were purchased with proceeds of unlawful activity.
The presiding judge, Justice Haleema Saleeman, in her ruling on Thursday in Ilorin, dismissed an application filed by Oyin-Zubair seeking to set aside an earlier interim forfeiture order on the grounds that it was obtained through misrepresentation.
The judge upheld the arguments of the EFCC and granted a final forfeiture of the items valued at N57.4 million to SEAP, the complainant in the case.
Saleeman granted permanent forfeiture of the properties to SEAP, bringing the case to a decisive end.
Meanwhile, Oyin-Zubair has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, challenging the ruling of the High Court.
The appeal, marked CA/IL/2025 and filed on Friday, July 25, 2025, is contesting the ruling.
Zubair, through his counsel, Dr. Adeola Omotunde, SAN, is asking the appellate court to set aside the ruling, citing grave procedural irregularities and alleged disobedience of court orders by the EFCC.
Omotunde said: “The appellant’s major contention is that the EFCC failed to comply with a crucial condition attached to the interim forfeiture order made by the lower court on November 19, 2024, which mandated the Commission to publish a notice of forfeiture in a newspaper.
“The failure to comply with this order, according to the appeal, renders the entire forfeiture proceedings null and void.
“The lower court erred in law by refusing to set aside its interim order of forfeiture despite the Respondent’s failure to comply with a clear and unambiguous order of court,” the appeal reads in part.
The matter is expected to come up for hearing in the coming weeks.
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