The Supreme Court has upheld 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, a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa overturned the Court of Appeal’s ruling and restored the earlier decision of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The apex court agreed that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities.
Emefiele had appealed the Federal High Court’s forfeiture order, but the Court of Appeal ruled in his favour. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) subsequently challenged that decision at the Supreme Court.
The forfeited assets include several luxury properties in Ikoyi and Lekki, Lagos, an industrial complex under construction in Agbor, Delta State, $2.045 million in cash, and share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited.
The original forfeiture order was issued on November 1, 2024, by the Federal High Court in Lagos after an application filed by the EFCC.
The anti-graft agency argued that its investigation showed the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities under the provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
With the Supreme Court’s ruling, the forfeiture of the properties, cash and share certificates to the Federal Government has now been conclusively affirmed.
