Romance Scam: Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of N17.1m To Federal Govt

Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of N17,100,595.40, seized from an alleged fraudster, Ifeanyi Alele David, to the Nigerian government.

The funds, held in a commercial ank account, are linked to David, who is under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for romance fraud and related crimes that led to the death of his alleged victim.

The judge ordered the forfeiture of the money after listening to a motion filed by EFCC’s counsel,  Chineye Okezie.

Justice Owoeye, on 26th February, 2026, ordered the interim forfeiture of the seized funds and mandated the publication of the order in a national newspaper to allow anyone with an interest to oppose the forfeiture.

In April, the EFCC published the notice as ordered, but no one came forward to contest the application.

The application was supported by an affidavit sworn to by an EFCC operative, Samson Aguma, who detailed the investigation and its findings.

Aguma revealed that the EFCC was alerted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about  David’s alleged involvement in a romance scam linked to the death of a US citizen.

He said that the FBI informed the anti-graft agency that the victim committed suicide in Denver, Colorado, on September 15, 2021.

The EFCC investigator stated that law enforcement recovered her phone and found messages from “Garry Micheal” via Google Hangouts and that investigations showed he repeatedly asked for money under false pretences, including requests to free himself from prison and return to the US.

Aguma also claimed that on the day the victim died, the suspect reportedly demanded $60,000, despite her financial problems and exhaustion of resources.

He further stated that between August 30 and September 13, 2021, the Victim sent approximately $154,500 through various channels associated with the scam.

The investigator maintained that forensic analysis linked email accounts, IP addresses, phone records, and an iCloud account to David in Nigeria.

He further disclosed that the funds found in David’s Access Bank account were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and formed part of the funds derived from the fraudulent scheme.

After reviewing the EFCC submissions and the affidavit evidence in court, Justice Owoeye held that the application had merit and ordered the final forfeiture of the money to the federal government.