Court orders permanent forfeiture of Emefiele’s N2bn properties

A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of properties valued at over N12 billion allegedly linked to Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This comes after an earlier court order granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) temporary control of the assets.

The EFCC had accused Emefiele of using proxies to purchase the high-value properties, primarily located in affluent areas of Abuja, with funds suspected to be derived from fraudulent activities.

The anti-graft agency presented evidence during court proceedings, though details regarding the specific nature of the alleged fraud remain undisclosed.

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Chukwujekwu Aneke, the judge, had ordered an interim forfeiture of the properties on June 5.

The properties are located in upmarket areas of the federal capital territory (FCT).

Aneke ordered the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national newspaper, for any interested party to show cause why the final order of forfeiture should not be made.

The properties were listed by the EFCC in two schedules — A and B.

The judge said: “Having carefully considered the application and submission of counsel, it is hereby ordered as follows: that a final forfeiture order of this honorable court is hereby made forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, properties contained in Schedule A herein which were traced and reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

“That a final forfeiture order of this Honourable Court is hereby made forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, properties contained in Schedule B herein which properties were traced to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”

Emefiele, who has not yet commented publicly on the court’s decision, is facing separate criminal trials. He has previously denied any wrongdoing.