Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of Properties Linked To Emefiele

Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of a warehouse built on a 1.925-hectare property along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Magboro, Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State.

The court also ordered the final forfeiture of 54 general-purpose steel containers, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) claimed are linked to a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN,) Godwin Emefiele.

The Judge ordered that the assets be forfeited to the federal government after no individual or organisation came forward to claim them.

On November 28, 2024, the judge had granted an interim forfeiture of the assets, directing the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to appear before the court and show cause why the assets should not be finally forfeited.

However, at the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court that the commission had complied with the court’s directives.

Oyedepo also informed the court that the application for final forfeiture was made pursuant to Section 44(2)(B) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006, as well as the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

The lawyer urged the court to issue a final forfeiture order to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the properties listed in Schedule A, which includes the warehouse located at Km 8 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Magboro, and the 54 general-purpose steel containers, suspected to have been acquired through unlawful activities.

After reviewing the submissions of the anti-graft agency’s lawyer and the documents filed before the court, Justice Dipeolu granted the requested relief and ordered the final forfeiture of all the assets.