Patience, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has requested that the sum of $5.7m and N2.4bn seized from her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be returned, saying no one complained she stolen it.
The Former First Lady insisted that it was wrong for the EFCC to term the money as the proceeds of fraud when no one has come out to prove she stole the money.
Her lawyer, Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), contended the money in question was gifts and do not fall in the category of advance fee fraud the EFCC relied on.
“It is not the law that if the EFCC finds money in an account and it doesn’t like the owner’s face, it comes to court and says ‘forfeit it’.
“The government is at liberty to apply for forfeiture but the offence must be stated.’’
“All that the EFCC said was that they saw money in her account and assumed it was stolen. They didn’t say from who.”
Court has adjouned till June 24 for judgment.