Tinubu and Atiku: Why the Jefferson case exposes the fallacy of treating civil forfeiture as a criminal conviction, By Kayode Oladele

Premium Times Nigeria | 02-09-2026 07:52pm |

The article discusses the legal situation involving two Nigerian politicians, Tinubu and Atiku, and highlights an important point about civil forfeiture. Civil forfeiture is when the government takes someone's property because it is believed to be connected to illegal activity, but it is not the same as a criminal conviction. The author argues that just because there are allegations against Atiku, it doesn’t mean they can automatically apply the same reasoning to Tinubu in a civil forfeiture case. For both individuals, the key questions should be whether they were formally charged with a crime, prosecuted, and tried in a court of law. In summary, the article emphasizes that civil forfeiture should not be treated as if it is the same as a criminal conviction, as the legal processes and implications are different.

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