Alleged Drug Trafficking: Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of Barryshine’s Four Lagos Properties To FG
Ranti Thomas
A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of four properties linked to Lagos socialite and alleged drug trafficker, Suleiman Aremu Ganiu, popularly known as Barryshine, to the Federal Government.
The order was made by Justice Musa Kakaki, who held that the properties were proceeds of unlawful activities connected to alleged drug trafficking and should permanently vest in the Federal Government.
The forfeited properties are located at Nos. 55, 55A, 63 and 72 Queen Street, Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos State.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had initially secured an interim forfeiture order over the buildings before returning to court for a final forfeiture after the statutory period elapsed without any successful challenge to the application.
Barryshine is currently facing separate drug trafficking charges before the Federal High Court in Lagos in criminal cases pending before Justice Akintayo Aluko and Justice Daniel Osiagor.
In its application, the NDLEA argued that investigations showed the four properties were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds from illicit drug trafficking.
The agency further informed the court that investigations conducted at the Lagos State Lands Bureau failed to establish any legitimate ownership records for the buildings, strengthening its request that the assets be permanently forfeited.
The NDLEA also maintained that the forfeiture proceedings were brought pursuant to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022, which empower the court to confiscate assets suspected to be proceeds of crime.
After reviewing the evidence placed before it, the court granted the application and ordered that the four properties be finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
The forfeiture represents another step in the NDLEA’s efforts to recover assets allegedly linked to drug trafficking and dismantle the financial networks of suspected drug syndicates operating across the country.