The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, $2.045 million, and share certificates linked to a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to the federal government.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the apex court set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and restored the earlier decision of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which had held that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
The judgment, read on behalf of the panel by Justice Mohammed Idris, upheld the forfeiture order made by Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court on November 1, 2024, in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/500/24.
Following the trial court’s decision, Emefiele had challenged the judgment before the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which overturned the forfeiture order.
The appellate court had held that interested parties claiming ownership of some of the assets were denied fair hearing and consequently ordered a fresh hearing of the matter.
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Dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal decision, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission approached the Supreme Court, urging it to restore the judgment of the Federal High Court.
The apex court agreed with the anti-graft agency and reinstated the forfeiture order, effectively vesting the assets in the Federal Government.
The forfeited assets include a fully detached duplex of identical structures at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres covered by Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, formerly Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow at No. 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; and a four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi.
Others are an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of undetached 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.
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