The Supreme Court has affirmed the final forfeiture of
properties and $2.045m linked to Godwin Emefiele, former governor of Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to the federal government.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court
overturned the decision of the court of appeal in Lagos, which had nullified
the forfeiture order.
The court held that the Court of Appeal erred when it
overturned the forfeiture order and directed that the matter be reheard by the
trial court.
BACKGROUND
On November 1, 2024, Deinde Dipeolu, judge of a federal high
court in Lagos, ordered the permanent forfeiture of monies (including $2.045
million), seven choice landed properties and the two share certificates of
Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust belonging to Emefiele, to the federal
government.
The assets were said to be reasonably suspected to have been
acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
The forfeited properties include two fully detached duplexes
of identical structures situated at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu street, Lekki Phase
1, Lagos; an undeveloped land, measuring 1919.592 sqm with Survey Plan No.
DS/LS/340 at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a
bungalow at No. 65a Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos, 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 an undetached apartment on
a plot measuring 2457.60sqm at No. 8a Adekunle Lawal road, Ikoyi, and a duplex
together with all its appurtenances on a plot of land measuring 2217.87sqm at
2a Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
In June 2025, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned the
final forfeiture order issued on assets owned by Emefiele.
Two of the three-member panel of justices of the appellate
court set aside the trial court’s judgment and ordered a retrial of the case at
the lower court.
In the judgment delivered by Abdulazeez Anka, the court held
that it was convinced that the legitimate earnings of Emefiele could acquire
the properties.
Anka, however, noted that the appellant did not contest the
forfeiture of the $2,045,000 forfeited to the federal government.
The judge ruled that the money should be forfeited to the
federal government.
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