FEATURED
EFCC Appeals Court Ruling on Ex-Warri Refinery MD’s $912,550 Assets
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has appealed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which rejected its application for the final forfeiture of funds and properties linked to a former Managing Director of Warri Refinery, Jimoh Olasunkanmi Yisawu.
The commission, in a notice of appeal filed on November 10, 2026, is challenging the November 9 judgment delivered by Justice J.K. Omotosho.
In the appeal, filed through its lead counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, the EFCC argued that the trial judge erred in law by failing to properly evaluate the financial evidence presented against Yisawu.
The commission is seeking to overturn the entire judgment, insisting that the former refinery boss failed to establish the lawful source of the foreign currency allegedly used to develop two properties and purchase treasury bills.
According to the EFCC, investigations revealed that between 2021 and 2025, Yisawu handed a total of $912,550, equivalent to over N1.5bn, in cash to foreign exchange dealers, Samaila Bala and Rasheed Olaitan Yusuf, for conversion into naira.
The commission questioned how the former public officer, whose salaries and allowances were documented, could have sourced such a substantial amount of foreign currency.
It argued that Yisawu failed to demonstrate how he converted his legitimate earnings into dollars before handing the money to the dealers.
The EFCC further faulted the trial court for allegedly failing to analyse financial transactions involving funds withdrawn from Yisawu’s bank accounts before concluding that the money used to develop the properties came from legitimate earnings.
The commission also relied on Yisawu’s financial declaration, which showed that as of September 17, 2020, he had N647,205.36 and $12,779.26 in cash and bank deposits.
It added that his total salaries and allowances between October 2020 and September 2023 amounted to N114,548,024.48, a figure it described as far below the $912,550 he allegedly transferred to the foreign exchange dealers.
The EFCC further alleged that the dealers indirectly paid N282,542,000 towards the development of the two properties being targeted for forfeiture.
It also claimed that Bala paid N65,860,000 in three instalments to Cordros Securities Limited on February 21, 2024, for the purchase of treasury bills.
According to the commission, the funds used for the transactions were not traced to Yisawu’s legitimate earnings.
The EFCC maintained that the trial judge failed to adequately consider the evidence relating to the former refinery boss’s income and the financial transactions under investigation.
Yisawu is also facing trial in a separate criminal case before another court.
The commission is asking the Court of Appeal to allow its appeal, set aside the Federal High Court’s decision and order the final forfeiture of the disputed funds and properties to the Federal Government.
EFCC Appeals Court Ruling on Ex-Warri Refinery MD’s $912,550 Assets
FG Clears Pension Backlog, Pays Federal Workers’ Benefits Up to 2029
Oando Rolls Out More Electric Buses In Lagos After 788,000 Passengers
NERC Approves N30bn Fund to Provide Free Electricity Meters, Sets May 2027 Deadline
Omo-Agege Denies Ordering Dafinone To Vote Against Akpabio
Any President Would Have Removed Fuel Subsidy — Okowa Defends Tinubu
Tinubu Unveils 2027 Manifesto, Promises 78,000 Security Personnel, 10,000MW Power
Truck Driver Flees as Mazda Bus Crash Kills Passenger, Injures 3 on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
Delta Police Arrest 54-Year-Old Woman for Faking Kidnap to Extort N15m From Brother
Tinubu Launches N52,500 Minimum Monthly Pension for 173,209 Retirees
N210trn NNPC Probe: Kyari Says Figures Were Accounting Entries, Not Missing Funds
Delta Police Arrest Five Over Viral Machete Killing In Issele-Azagba
Tinubu to Nigerians: Judge Me by Performance, Not Promises
Police Probe Babcock Student’s Attempt to Jump From Hostel Building
Oborevwori Approves N10bn For 92 Delta Schools, 4,500 Desks — Full List Not Yet Released
