New revelations on financial windfalls earned by the ex-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, have created new questions regarding accountability within the public sector.
As court documents filed at the Court of Appeal in Lagos show, Emefiele received ₦350 million as yearly remuneration during his tenure, in addition to ₦75 million quarterly allowance and more than $6.2 million estacode allowance. In total, his remuneration was more than ₦650 million annually.
These facts popped up in an appeal against a Federal High Court ruling that earlier granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forfeiture of some high-value assets suspected to have been traced to Emefiele. In a divided ruling, the appellate court reversed the order of forfeiture based on procedural irregularities and ordered a retrial.
Legal Tug-of-War Over Asset Ownership
The issue is whether the properties were purchased using clean earnings or tainted proceeds. The EFCC claimed that the proceeds of corruption were laundered through shell companies to conceal Emefiele’s name. The agency further argued that the named companies, whose names were used as owners of the properties, never challenged the seizure.
Emefiele pushed back with documents of his career earnings, including a ₦1.75 billion exit package and ₦500 million in shares of Zenith Bank from when he was MD. He also submitted his earnings to the CBN. The court ruled the disclosures were substantial enough to call into question whether the EFCC had irrefutably proved the assets were unlawful.
In his majority judgment, Justice Abdulazeez Anka censured the Federal High Court for having depended on written briefs to the exclusion of calling witnesses to resolve conflicting affidavits. He directed the case to be remitted for a complete retrial.
A Divided Bench and Lingering Controversy
The ruling was not one hundred percent unanimous. Justice Danlami Senchi dissented, stating that there had been enough evidence before the EFCC and that requiring oral evidence would unnecessarily prolong the process of dispensing justice. He concurred with upholding the initial forfeiture.
However, the appellate court upheld the permanent forfeiture of $2.045 million in cash confiscated from Emefiele because he did not appeal against that specific seizure.
Public Service Pay in the Spotlight
The sheer size of Emefiele’s compensation has tongues flapping in the public space. His reward compares to and, in some cases, surpasses that of Nigeria’s top corporate executives. Nigeria’s top ten CEOs earned ₦11.6 billion combined in 2024, an increase from ₦7.9 billion in the previous year.
Zenith Bank’s Dame Adaora Umeoji, Nigeria’s first female bank GMD, made ₦874 million in less than one year. GTCO’s Segun Agbaje raked in ₦471 million while guiding the bank to ₦2.1 trillion revenue.
Against that background, Emefiele’s compensation as a public official has drawn criticism. Public service doesn’t typically demand private-sector-quality compensation, and the murkiness here has generated new demands for overhauls of financial disclosure and compensation in the public sector.
What’s Next?
The case will now return to the Federal High Court for a full retrial, with oral depositions and cross-examinations. The verdict will not only decide Emefiele’s fate in law but also test Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies.
More generally, the revelations favor stricter laws on transparency and periodic screening of leading public officials. As public trust ebbs and flows, the probe of Nigeria’s elite rages on – in the courts and beyond them.
