The Supreme Court on Friday handed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) a major legal victory, affirming the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, $2.045 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 Mohammed Saulawa, the apex court set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and restored the decision of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which had ordered the permanent forfeiture of the assets after finding that they were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
The decision effectively ends Emefiele’s legal challenge against the forfeiture and restores the Federal High Court’s November 1, 2024 judgment in its entirety.
The apex court held that the Federal High Court was right to order the forfeiture under the provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the Constitution, having found that the assets were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The legal battle began after the Federal High Court granted the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture of the assets in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/500/24. Emefiele subsequently appealed the decision, securing a favourable judgment at the Court of Appeal, which overturned the forfeiture order.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court’s verdict, the EFCC approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court of Appeal erred in setting aside the judgment of the trial court.
The apex court agreed with the anti-graft agency, nullified the appellate court’s decision and reinstated the judgment of Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court.
The forfeited assets 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 at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi; a bungalow at No. 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; and a four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi.
Also forfeited are an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of detached apartments on a 2,457.60-square-metre plot at No. 8A Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; and a full duplex with all its appurtenances on a 2,217.87-square-metre plot at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
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The apex court also affirmed the permanent forfeiture of $2,045,000 (Two Million, Forty-Five Thousand United States Dollars) and the share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited to the Federal Government.
The forfeiture proceedings were initiated by the EFCC through its Director of Public Prosecution, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, pursuant to 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).
The application, brought as an action in rem, was supported by an affidavit deposed to by EFCC investigating officer David Jayeoba, who stated that investigations revealed that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities and were therefore liable to forfeiture.
The Federal High Court granted the final forfeiture order on November 1, 2024, a decision that was later overturned by the Court of Appeal before Friday’s Supreme Court judgment restored it.
