In a landmark ruling, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent seizure of Sunflower Hotel Ltd, a multi-million-naira property in Kaduna State, linked to Professor Vincent Tenebe, the former Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) ¹ ². This decision follows a motion filed by F.O. Dibang, counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on June 21.
Justice Ekwo’s ruling declared that the property, suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities, be forfeited to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This decision was made after the EFCC received intelligence in December 2022 regarding conspiracy, theft, diversion of public funds, and criminal breach of trust involving Monday Onyeme, former Chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue and former NOUN bursar, and Adamu Danlami, owner of Crossbill International Ltd.
The investigation uncovered that Onyeme conspired with other NOUN staff to divert funds to companies where he held interests, including Crossbill International Ltd. The EFCC found that Crossbill International Ltd transferred misappropriated funds from NOUN to various entities, including Sunflower Hotel Ltd. Account statements from Blacksnow Ltd, Eno Global Services Nigeria Ltd, and Crossbill International Ltd substantiated these transfers and withdrawals.
Further findings revealed that Professor Tenebe was connected to all entities mentioned in the affidavit and had used N275,081,896.09 from his account to fund the construction of Sunflower Hotel Ltd, which he acquired from his brother-in-law, Yakubu Mamman Akhagbeme, in Kaduna. Notably, Prof Tenebe was not listed as a director or shareholder of Sunflower Hotel Ltd, yet he used suspected misappropriated funds from NOUN to complete the hotel.
The EFCC published a notice on March 5, as ordered by the court, and filed an affidavit of compliance. With no contests to ownership during the publication period, the EFCC argued for final forfeiture, citing public interest and allowing the Federal Government to manage the property on behalf of NOUN. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/33/2024, names the EFCC as the applicant and Sunflower Hotel Ltd as the respondent ¹.
