The Supreme Court has upheld the final forfeiture of seven properties, $2.045 million and share certificates linked to former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, announced on Friday that the apex court overturned the Court of Appeal’s judgment and restored the earlier ruling of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which ordered the assets forfeited to the Federal Government.
A unanimous five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa, ruled that the assets were “reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities,” setting aside the appellate court’s decision and affirming the trial court’s judgment.
The legal battle followed the Federal High Court’s final forfeiture order, which Emefiele challenged at the Court of Appeal. The appellate court reversed the decision, prompting the EFCC to seek redress at the Supreme Court.
The apex court’s verdict reinstated the Federal High Court’s order covering seven landed properties, $2,045,000 and the share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited.
Among the assets forfeited are a detached duplex on Hakeem Odumosu Street in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped parcel of land on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; a bungalow on the same road; a four-bedroom duplex on Probyn Road, Ikoyi; an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots in Agbor, Delta State; eight undetached apartments on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; and a duplex on Bank Road, Ikoyi.
The Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice D.I. Dipeolu, had granted the final forfeiture on November 1, 2024, after considering an application filed by the EFCC through its Director of Public Prosecution, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN.
The anti-graft agency based its application on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, maintaining that the properties and funds were “reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
The application was supported by an affidavit from EFCC investigating officer David Jayeoba, who stated that investigations showed the assets were “reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
Friday’s judgment brings the forfeiture proceedings to a close, with the Supreme Court affirming that the seven properties, $2.045 million and the share certificates are to remain forfeited to the Federal Government.