Court Orders Okorocha, Family To Forfeit Assets’ To Imo State Govt

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said on Wednesday that a former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, and some members of his family would forfeit to the state government assets traced to his family members.

The Head, Enugu zonal office of the commission , Mr Usman Imam, disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists at a press conference in Enugu on the commission’s collaboration with the United States of America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Imam said the commission had obtained orders for the interim forfeiture of assets traced to the former governor, his wife, Nneoma Nkechi, and their daughter.

He also said the anti-graft agency had obtained similar order on a property traced to Okorocha’s former aide, Mr Paschal Obi.

He said the commission had established prima facie cases against the suspects, which they would answer to.

Imam said the commission would like to know how the Rochas Foundation and “other accomplices” acquired and or converted some of the property for personal use.

He listed some of the property traced to include “a 16 – block 96 – flat structure and an eight – bungalow multimillion naira estate, hotel, two schools, shopping plaza, supermarket, hospital and four vehicles.”

Imam said the only property traced to Obi was a hospital, while the remaining property were traced to the former governor, his wife and daughter. “We hope to get permanent forfeiture orders on the property in order to return them to the people of the state,” he said.

Imam said all the facilities, including the schools, would remain functional as the commission would not like to shut them down for the sake of the students and other users.