The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of N830 million, $4.7 million, and multiple properties linked to Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The ruling, delivered by trial judge Yellim Bogoro on Friday, followed a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC argued that the funds and properties were proceeds of unlawful activities, referencing Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution.
EFCC’s lawyer, Bilikisu Buhari, stated that the forfeited funds, held in First Bank, Titan Bank, and Zenith Bank, were linked to various entities including Omoile Anita Joy, Deep Blue Energy Service Limited, Exactquote Bureau De Change Ltd, Lipam Investment Services Limited, Tatler Services Limited, Rosajul Global Resources Ltd, and TIL Communication Nigeria Ltd.
The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of several assets linked to Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as part of an ongoing legal action.
The properties affected by the ruling include:
- 94 units of an 11-storey building under construction at No. 2, Otunba Elegushi 2nd Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos.
- AM Plaza, an 11-storey office space at 1E, Otunba Adedoyin Crescent, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, Lagos.
- Imore Industrial Park 1, Esa Street.
- A plot of land at No. 1 Bunmi Owulude Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
- A property at No. 8 Bayo Kuku Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
- An estate at 100 Cottonwood Coppel Texas Drive, Coppel, Texas, owned by Lipam Investment Services.
- A 1,038.069-square-meter plot in Lekki Foreshore Estate Scheme, Block A, Plot 4, Foreshore Estate, Eti-Osa, Lagos.
- Two properties purchased from Chevron Nigeria at Closed PFA Fund, Block B, Lot Twin Completed Property, Lakes Estate, Lekki, Lagos.
Additionally, the court ordered the forfeiture of €20,000 and £1,999.50 traced to Exactquote Bureau De Change, as well as an investment worth $900,000 linked to Anita Joy Omoile in Titan Bank, $4,414,801.76 traced to Deep Blue Energy Service Limited in First Bank, and N283,086,186.73 traced to Lipam Investment Services.
The ruling follows an earlier interim forfeiture order secured by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), after which the court directed that the order be published in a national newspaper.
This decision represents a significant development in the ongoing investigation of financial misconduct involving high-profile figures.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) urged the court to grant a final forfeiture order, asserting that no valid claims had been made for the assets in question.
Godwin Emefiele, who was removed as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, is facing multiple corruption charges in Lagos and Abuja, linked to his time in office.
However, Friday’s ruling is a non-conviction-based forfeiture, meaning the assets were seized without a criminal conviction.
In his ruling, Judge Yellim Bogoro affirmed that the funds and properties were proceeds of unlawful activities and should be forfeited to the Federal Government. The judge also questioned the timing of the dollar shortages that occurred immediately after Emefiele’s removal from office, along with the inability to pay salaries.
“I hold that they are not legitimate business activities. I hold that Anita Omoile is a close crony of the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, who was given undue influence to unlawfully sway dollars from the CBN,” the judge stated, as reported by Punch Newspaper.
Following this ruling, the judge ordered that all the forfeited funds and properties be transferred to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
