Supreme Court Ends Emefiele Asset Battle Orders Final Forfeiture of Seven Properties and $2.045 Million
The legal battle over assets linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, came to a definitive end on Friday as the Supreme Court ruled that seven high-value properties, $2.045 million and share certificates be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa, the apex court overturned the earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal and restored the forfeiture order made by the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The Supreme Court held that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired from proceeds of unlawful activities, affirming that the Federal Government was entitled to take ownership of them.
The judgment marked a major victory for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which had challenged the Court of Appeal’s decision after it set aside the forfeiture order initially granted by the Federal High Court.
Among the assets forfeited are luxury properties in Ikoyi and Lekki, Lagos, including duplexes, apartments, a bungalow, an undeveloped parcel of land, and an industrial complex under construction in Agbor, Delta State.
emeemeAlso forfeited are $2.045 million in cash and the share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited.
The assets were first ordered forfeited by Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on November 1, 2024, after the EFCC argued that investigations showed they were proceeds of unlawful activities.
With the Supreme Court’s verdict, the long-running dispute over the ownership of the assets has been brought to a close, cementing one of the EFCC’s most significant asset recovery victories in recent years
