The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of properties worth over N11.14 billion and N1.04 billion, belonging to former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Government. The ruling came from Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke after considering a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The properties, located in Cadastral Zones Maitama and Wuse, Abuja, were allegedly acquired with proceeds from unlawful activities. Justice Aneke stated, "A final forfeiture order of this honourable court is hereby made forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, properties contained in Schedule A herein which were traced and reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities."
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The forfeiture also includes lands and apartments worth N1.04 billion, acquired by proxy for Emefiele through CBN staff Obayemi Oluwaseun Teben and Akomolafe Adebayo, with Olubunmi Makinde acting as the intermediary. These individuals allegedly secured foreign exchange allocations for companies in exchange for kickbacks.
An interim forfeiture was previously granted on June 5, 2024, based on EFCC suspicions that Emefiele used fraudulent proceeds to purchase the properties. On June 21, no parties contested the interim order, leading to the final forfeiture order by Justice Aneke.
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