A Federal High Court in Lagos has ruled that $4.7 million, N830 million, and several properties linked to Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), must be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
Delivering the judgment on Friday, Justice Yellim Bogoro granted the final forfeiture application submitted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by lawyer Bilkisu Buhari-Bala. Earlier, the judge had dismissed a request to arrest Emefiele.
The forfeited funds were held in accounts at First Bank, Titan Bank, and Zenith Bank, managed by individuals and companies including Omoile Anita Joy, Deep Blue Energy Service Limited, Exactquote Bureau De Change Ltd, Lipam Investment Services Limited, Tatler Services Limited, Rosajul Global Resources Ltd, and TIL Communication Nigeria Ltd.
The affected properties include: 94 units of an 11-floor building under construction at 2 Otunba Elegushi 2nd Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos, AM Plaza, an 11-floor office building in Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, Lagos.
Imore Industrial Park 1 in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, Mitrewood and Tatler Warehouse (a furniture plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos) and Two properties in Lakes Estate, Lekki, Lagos, purchased from Chevron Nigeria..
Additional properties include a plot at Lekki Foreshore Estate, an estate in Coppel, Texas, land at 1 Bunmi Owulude Street, Lekki Phase 1, and a property at 8 Bayo Kuku Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Justice Bogoro ruled that these funds and properties were proceeds of unlawful activities and should be handed over to the federal government.
“I find that the activities of the respondents were unlawful. Why was there suddenly a shortage of dollars when Emefiele left office, and salaries could not be paid? Their business dealings were not legitimate,” the judge stated.
He also identified Anita Omoile as a close associate of Emefiele who had improperly influenced the diversion of dollars from the CBN.
The EFCC, represented by senior lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), had based its case on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution.
Initially, the court ordered an interim forfeiture and directed the publication of the ruling in a national newspaper. Since the defendants failed to prove they legally owned the funds and properties, the court made the forfeiture permanent.
