Justice A.O. Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of N17,100,595.40 to the Federal Government.
The funds, held in an Access Bank account, are linked to one Ifeanyi David, who is currently under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged romance fraud and related criminal activities.
The order followed a motion on notice filed by the EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, Ikoyi, through its counsel, C.C. Okezie.
The court had earlier, on February 26, 2026, granted an interim forfeiture order and directed the Commission to publish the notice in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
During Monday’s proceedings, the EFCC counsel told the court that the Commission complied with the directive by publishing the notice in The Punch newspaper on April 10, 2026, and that no individual or organisation came forward to contest the forfeiture within the stipulated period.
The EFCC also relied on an affidavit deposed to by operative Samson Aguma, who detailed the findings of the investigation.
According to the affidavit, the Commission received a petition from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alleging that David was involved in a romance scam linked to the death of a United States citizen.
Investigations showed that on September 15, 2021, a victim of the fraud committed suicide in a hotel room in Denver, Colorado, after allegedly being subjected to sustained financial exploitation.
Law enforcement officials reportedly recovered her mobile phone and discovered multiple messages exchanged with an individual using the identity “Garry Micheal” via Google Hangouts.
The messages showed that the suspect repeatedly requested money under false pretences, including claims that he needed funds for his release from prison and to facilitate his return to the United States.
On the day of her death, the suspect allegedly demanded an additional $60,000, despite the victim expressing severe financial distress and indicating she had exhausted her resources.
Further investigations by the FBI reportedly revealed that the victim transferred about $154,500 between August 30 and September 13, 2021, through various channels linked to the fraud.
The EFCC said forensic analysis of email accounts, IP addresses, phone records, and an Apple iCloud account traced the scheme to David in Nigeria.
The Commission further stated that the N17,100,595.40 found in his Access Bank account was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity and part of the fraudulent scheme.
After reviewing the evidence, Justice Owoeye held that the application had merit and ordered the final forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Government.