A Nigerian court on Tuesday ordered the forfeiture of shares worth more than five billion naira ($6 million) linked to a former army general convicted of corruption.

Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos ruled that the 245 million shares traced to Major General Umar Mohammed, former head of the Nigerian Army Properties Limited (NAPL), were acquired with proceeds of crime and must be surrendered to the state.

The order followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which said Mohammed used funds from the fraudulent sale of military-owned properties to acquire the shares through accounts controlled by his company, Awhua Resources Limited.

The EFCC said a special court martial had earlier convicted Mohammed on 14 of 18 counts of stealing and other related offences. Five properties linked to him had also previously been confiscated.

Among the companies whose shares were forfeited are some of Nigeria’s biggest firms, including Cadbury, Conoil, Dangote Sugar, Flour Mills, Oando, Transcorp, Union Bank, Ecobank, and Unilever. Holdings were also traced to Vitafoam, May & Baker, Okomu Oil, NAHCO, and PZ Industries.

In court filings, EFCC investigator Nwike Fortune said the transactions were deliberately concealed through accounts managed by Rowet Capital Management Limited and Resort Securities & Trust Limited. He argued that the funds were proceeds of “fraudulent sales” carried out under Mohammed’s leadership of the army’s property company.

Justice Dipeolu held that the statutory requirements for a final forfeiture had been met, noting that the EFCC had published the interim order in a national newspaper and that no objections had been filed.

The court therefore granted the request, ruling that the shares be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government for the benefit of the Nigerian Army Properties Limited.