Abuja, Nigeria – The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent forfeiture of $49,700 recovered from Dr. Nura Ali, former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Sokoto State.

The ruling was delivered on Wednesday by Justice Emeka Nwite following a motion by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), represented by counsel Osuobeni Akponimisingha, for final forfeiture.

The ICPC informed the court that the interim forfeiture order had been complied with and that a public notice inviting interested parties to claim the funds yielded no responses. Justice Nwite ruled that the application was meritorious and ordered the money to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

The funds were recovered during a joint search operation by the ICPC and the Department of State Services (DSS) at Dr. Ali’s residence in Kano. Investigators alleged that the money represented bribes received during his tenure as INEC REC for Sokoto State.

In December 2024, the court had granted an interim forfeiture of the sum pending further investigation. The ICPC noted that INEC does not pay its officials, including Resident Electoral Commissioners, in U.S. dollars.

The anti-graft agency added that the forfeiture was necessary to preserve funds suspected to be proceeds of crime, as Dr. Ali failed to provide a legitimate explanation for the source of the money.