Court orders final forfeiture of $2 million cash, seven landed assets linked to Emefiele

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday ordered the final forfeiture of $2.045 million and seven landed assets mostly in choice areas of Lagos linked to Federal High Court , former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The judge, Dehinde Dipeolu, similarly ordered the final forfeiture of two share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust, also linked to the former central bank chief, an EFCC statement said.

The court issued the permanent forfeiture order following an application filed and argued by the legal team of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Mr Emefiele, Nigeria’s central bank governor for nine years, is facing three separate corruption trials in Lagos and Abuja. The trials have been running independently of the non-conviction based forfeiture proceedings which culminated in Friday’s final forfeiture order.

The landed assets affected by the permanent forfeiture order include two fully detached duplexes of identical structures at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, undeveloped land, measuring 1919.592sqm with Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos. and a bungalow at No. 65A, Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos.

Also permanently forfeited is a four-bedroom duplex at 12 A, Probyn Road, Ikoyi, Lagos and an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State, is also affected by the order of permanent forfeiture.

The rest of the forfeited assets are 8 units of an undetached apartment on a plot measuring 2457.60sqm at No. 8A, Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, and a full duplex together with all its appurtenances on a plot of land measuring 2217.87sqm at 2a Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Earlier in August, Akintayo Aluko, sitting as a vacation judge, had ordered the interim forfeiture of the properties.

The interim forfeiture order issued on 15 August followed an ex parte application filed by the EFCC through its lawyer, C.C. Okezie.

Arguing the ex parte motion during a hearing on 13 August, Mr Okezie told the court that the properties, cash and shares were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities by Mr Emefiele.

Judge Aluko granted the application as prayed.

The judge also ordered the commission to publish the interim order within 14 days in any of The Punch, The Nation or The Guardian newspapers as well as on EFCC website.

The essence of the publications was to afford any interested party who might have legitimate claims to any of the assets to show cause why the final order of forfeiture should not be made in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Mr Emefiele did not contest the forfeiture order within the court’s stipulated time frame.

The EFCC subsequently applied for an order of final forfeiture of the assets on 11 October.

Moving the application for the final forfeiture of the properties on Friday, EFCC’s lead lawyer, Mr Oyedepo, told the court that the commission had complied with the order of the court regarding the publication.

The judge, after listening to the submissions of the EFCC’ s lawyer, ordered the final forfeiture of the assets

The judge held that Mr Emefiele could not explain how he could have possibly acquired the assets with his legitimate earnings from Zenith Bank and subsequently the CBN.

The court also held that the former CBN governor failed to provide documents to show that he owned the properties.

Judge Dipeolu held that “ the conclusion that can be deduced is that there must be something dark about the acquisition of the properties which Emefiele and the companies do not want to come to light”.

The judge further held “that the interested party has failed to demonstrate any lawful interest in the properties and that they were acquired from his legitimate earnings. I, therefore, order the final forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria of all those properties…which are reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”

Charges

Mr Emefiele, who was removed from office in June 2023, is facing prosecution before separate judges.

He and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are standing trial on 23 counts of abuse of office, accepting gratifications, corrupt demand, receiving property fraudulently obtained, and conferring corrupt advantage before Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja.

The former CBN governor also stands accused in another case involving illegal printing of naira notes before Maryanne Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.

In the case, EFCC accused him of printing N684 million notes at the cost N18.96 billion without then President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval.

The EFCC claimed that between October 2022 and March 2023, Mr Emefiele illegally approved the printing of currency—specifically the N1,000, N500, and N200 denominations—without securing approvals mandated by law.
EFCC said that the process cost the nation billions and breached Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, which requires Board and presidential consent for currency changes.

The EFCC is also prosecuting the former CBN governor before Hamza Mu’azu of the FCT G

In the case, Mr Emefiele stands accused of 20 amended counts of conferment of corrupt advantages, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and obtaining about $6.23 million belonging to the Nigerian government by false pretence.

In some of the counts, the prosecution alleged that the former CBN governor forged a document titled: Re: Presidential Directive on Foreign Election Observer Missions dated 26 January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201, which he allegedly claimed to be from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

EFCC accused him of using his office as CBN governor to confer unfair and corrupt advantages on two companies – April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd.

Most of the charges stemmed from the indictment of Mr Emefiele by Jim Obaze, a special investigator engaged by President Bola Tinubu to investigate the activities of the CBN on his watch.

But the former CBN governor has denied all the charges. The EFCC is still calling witnesses in the three cases, after which Mr Emefiele will take his turn to call defence witnesses.