The Supreme Court has affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, the sum of $2,045,000 (Two Million, Forty-Five Thousand United States Dollars) and share certificates linked to embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The apex court delivered the judgement in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa.
The court set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal and restored the decision of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which had ordered the final forfeiture of the assets on the grounds that they were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
The final forfeiture order was originally granted on November 1, 2024, by Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/500/24, following an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC through its counsel, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
EFCC had brought the application as an action in rem, seeking the final forfeiture of assets reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
The application was supported by an affidavit deposed to by the Commission’s investigator, David Jayeoba, who stated that investigations established reasonable grounds to believe that the properties and funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The assets forfeited to the Federal Government are: A fully detached duplex of identical structures at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow at No. 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State.
Others include, eight units of undetached apartments on a plot measuring 2,457.60 square metres at No. 8A Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; a full duplex with all its appurtenances on a plot measuring 2,217.87 square metres at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The apex court also affirmed the forfeiture of $2,045,000 and the share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited to the Federal Government.
The Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict finally settles the protracted legal dispute over the assets, conclusively restoring and affirming the judgement of the Federal High Court and reinforcing the Commission’s commitment to recovering assets reasonably suspected to have been acquired through unlawful means.
