Court Orders Reps Member Nicholas Mutu to Forfeit ₦150m to FG Over Alleged NDDC Kickbacks

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of ₦150 million linked to a member of the House of Representatives, Nicholas Mutu, to the Federal Government after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) traced the funds to alleged kickbacks from a Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) contract.

Justice J.O. Abdulmalik made the order on Thursday following an application by the EFCC, which argued that the money constituted proceeds of unlawful activities.

The anti-graft agency had approached the court under relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, seeking permanent forfeiture of the funds after an interim forfeiture order was earlier granted.

According to the EFCC, the interim order was published in a national newspaper as directed by the court, but no sufficient cause was shown why the money should not be permanently forfeited.

The commission told the court that investigations revealed that Mutu, who represents Bomadi/Patani Federal Constituency of Delta State, allegedly received ₦400.16 million in kickbacks from an NDDC consultant while serving as Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the NDDC.

The EFCC alleged that the payments were routed through the bank accounts of two companies linked to the lawmaker—Airworld Technologies Limited and Oyien Homes Limited—where he is said to be the major shareholder alongside members of his immediate family.

According to the commission, the consultant had sought the committee’s intervention to recover debts owed to the NDDC by oil and gas companies operating in the Niger Delta.

Following the committee’s intervention, the companies reportedly paid over ₦100 billion to the NDDC, after which the consultant allegedly paid part of its fees to companies associated with Mutu as kickbacks.

The EFCC further alleged that while investigations were ongoing, the lawmaker procured a backdated subcontract agreement in favour of Airworld Technologies Limited in an attempt to disguise the payments as legitimate business transactions.

The anti-graft agency maintained that the consultant later admitted the purported subcontract was only created to conceal the alleged kickback payments and that no work was carried out under the arrangement.

Although Mutu refunded ₦150 million during the investigation, he later argued that the payment was not voluntary and insisted the transactions involving his companies were lawful.

However, Justice Abdulmalik held that the refunded sum represented proceeds of unlawful activities and consequently ordered its final forfeiture to the Federal Government.

The ruling marks another milestone in the EFCC’s efforts to recover assets linked to alleged corruption involving public officials and public contracts.