The Supreme Court has affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, $2.045 million and share certificates linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Government.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday by a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa, the apex court overturned an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal and reinstated the ruling of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which ordered the forfeiture of the assets.
It was held that the properties and funds were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities, thereby restoring the Federal High Court’s final forfeiture order.
The judgment followed an appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the Court of Appeal had reversed the trial court’s decision in favour of Emefiele.
According to the anti-graft agency, the Federal High Court had initially granted the forfeiture order on November 1, 2024, in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/500/24.
The application was argued by the EFCC’s Director of Public Prosecution, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The commission instituted the proceedings as an action in rem, seeking the permanent forfeiture of assets it alleged were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
An affidavit supporting the application, sworn by EFCC investigating officer David Jayeoba, stated that investigations uncovered evidence suggesting that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been purchased with illicit funds.
Following the Federal High Court’s decision, Emefiele appealed the ruling. The Court of Appeal subsequently set aside the forfeiture order, prompting the EFCC to challenge the decision before the Supreme Court.
With Friday’s verdict, the Supreme Court has restored the judgment of the Federal High Court, bringing the legal dispute over the assets to a close.
The forfeited assets include a fully detached duplex at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; a bungalow at No. 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; and a four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi.
Also forfeited are an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of apartments on No. 8A Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; and a duplex with its appurtenances located at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi.
In addition to the landed properties, the Supreme Court upheld the forfeiture of $2,045,000 and share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited to the Federal Government.
The EFCC maintained throughout the proceedings that the assets met the legal threshold for forfeiture because they were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through unlawful means, a position now conclusively endorsed by Nigeria’s highest court.
