Nigeria, March 29 -- The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja not to lift the interim forfeiture order it placed on assets linked to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

The legal team of the governor, however, argued that the interim forfeiture order violates the constitutional immunity that shields him from criminal cases.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the judge, Nicholas Oweibo, on 22 February, ordered the interim forfeiture of the assets including N400 million and 14 properties located in Lagos, Abuja and the United Arab Emirates.

The commission had said the money "is reasonably suspected to have been derived from the unlawful activity and intended to be used for the acquisition of...