Shehu Dikko fights back over seized Abuja home

The former second vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation, Shehu Dikko has asked the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to drop corruption allegations against him.

It will be recalled the anti-corruption agency seized property belonging to him as confirmed in a published advertisement in Daily Trust newspaper.

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“The Commission is of the opinion based on the aforementioned investigation that this immovable property owned by Mr Shehu Dikko is excessive having regard to his present and past emoluments and all other circumstances,” the ICPC statement said.

However, his lawyers have said the allegations made against their client come with no evidence that any crime took place.

“This unfair media trial has been going on since 2019 when the ICPC published notices in newspapers for seizure of my client’s and his colleagues’ assets without any court order to back the forfeiture of my client’s assets nor inviting our clients to explain,” said Mohammed Sani Katu.

“We immediately engaged the ICPC and they invited our client to provide documents on the properties and he honoured and provided all proofs to show that all his assets are legitimate.

“Fundamentally, the fact is that my client owns the properties long before he joined NFF in 2015,”

“In March 2020, the ICPC went to court to apply to withdraw the case as they were unable to provide any evidence on the properties that they say are illegally acquired,” Katu continued.

“The court duly struck out the matter on 4 March 2020. This ought to have ended all issue.

“The court clearly affirmed that all the properties were owned long before our client got to the NFF and no substantive facts or prima facie evidence were supplied.”

Katu insists his client Dikko, a businessman and CEO of an investment, finance and project development company, wants the ICPC to close the matter once and for all.