The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, $2.45 million, and share certificates linked to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Government.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the apex court set aside the decision of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, which had overturned an earlier forfeiture order granted in favour of the Federal Government.
The Supreme Court restored the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which had ruled that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had instituted the forfeiture proceedings in a suit marked FHC/L/MISC/500/24, relying on 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).
Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court had, on November 1, 2024, granted the final forfeiture order after considering an affidavit filed by EFCC investigating officer David Jayeoba. The investigator stated that the commission’s investigation showed the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Emefiele appealed the judgment, arguing that the forfeiture order resulted in a miscarriage of justice. The Court of Appeal ruled in his favour, prompting the Federal Government to approach the Supreme Court.
In its judgment, the apex court held that the EFCC had established sufficient grounds for the forfeiture of the assets and that Emefiele failed to provide credible evidence showing they were acquired through legitimate means.
The assets ordered forfeited 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; a four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi; an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of undetached apartments on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; and a full duplex located at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi.
The Supreme Court also affirmed the forfeiture of $2.45 million and share certificates linked to the former CBN governor.
Emefiele, who served as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2014 to 2023, is currently facing multiple criminal charges before courts in Abuja and Lagos.