Court Orders Final Forfeiture of $835,081.46 Linked to SDQ Facilitators

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of $835,081.46 found in the dollar wallet of SDQ Facilitators Limited, held with Leatherback (also known as Rexel Nigeria Limited), to the Federal Government.

This decision was made by Justice Deinde Dipeolu following an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC’s counsel, Saadatu Yabo, filed the application under Section 44 (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act 2006. The sum is suspected to be proceeds from unlawful activities.

Previously, on December 10, 2024, the court had issued an interim forfeiture order and instructed the EFCC to publicize it in a national newspaper, allowing any interested parties 14 days to contest the forfeiture. No claims were made during this period, leading to the final forfeiture order.

Investigations revealed that SDQ Facilitators Limited, along with individuals including Mr. Adegboyega Agbede and Lawal Muh’d Kazeem, allegedly obtained approximately ₦136.95 billion from various petitioners under the pretense of exchanging the funds for $224.6 million.

However, after receiving the naira amounts, the suspects neither provided the dollar equivalent nor refunded the naira, instead diverting the funds for personal use.

The EFCC’s investigation further indicated that the suspects fraudulently diverted and obtained a total of $8,113,366 from the petitioners under false pretenses.