A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, presided over by Justice Yellim Bogoro, has ordered the final forfeiture of $4,719,054 (Four Million, Seven Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Fifty-Four Dollars), N830,875,611 (Eight Hundred and Thirty Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Five Thousand, Six Hundred and Eleven Naira), and several properties linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The ruling, delivered on Friday, February 21, 2025, followed a motion on notice filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking the forfeiture on the grounds that the assets were proceeds of unlawful activity. The EFCC’s application, presented by counsel Bilikisu Buhari, was made pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the EFCC, the funds were held in accounts operated by 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 in First Bank, Titan Bank, and Zenith Bank.
The forfeited properties include:
94 units of an 11-storey building under construction at No. 2, Otunba Elegushi 2nd Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos.
AM Plaza and an 11-storey office building at 1E, Otunba Adedoyin Crescent, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, Lagos.
Imore Industrial Park 1, Esa Street, and Imoore Land in Amuwo Odofin LGA, Lagos.
A furniture plant at Bogije, near Elemoro, Lagos.
Two properties purchased from Chevron Nigeria.
A plot of land at Lekki Foreshore Estate, Block A, Plot 4, Eti-Osa LGA.
A property at No. 1 Bunmi Owulude Street (Maruwa), Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
A building at No. 8 Bayo Kuku Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
An estate at 100 Cottonwood Coppel Texas Drive, Coppel, Texas, USA.
Additionally, the court ordered the forfeiture of €20,000 (Twenty Thousand Euros), £1,999.50 (One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Pounds, Fifty Pence), and investments totaling $900,000 (Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars) in Titan Bank, $4,414,801.76 (Four Million, Four Hundred and Fourteen Thousand, Eight Hundred and One Dollars, Seventy-Six Cents) in First Bank, and N283,086,186.73 (Two Hundred and Eighty-Three Million, Eighty-Six Thousand, One Hundred and Eighty-Six Naira, Seventy-Three Kobo) in Lipam Investment Services.
This ruling marks another milestone in the EFCC’s efforts to recover assets linked to alleged financial misconduct.