The Federal High Court’s Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke has directed the forfeiture of properties valued at over N11.14bn and another N1.04 billion that are associated with the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to the federal government.
After considering an application submitted and argued by Chineye Okezie, counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the court issued an order for the permanent forfeiture of the properties.
On June 5, 2024, the Court granted the EFCC’s motion for a temporary forfeiture of the properties, which was lodged and argued by its counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo.
The EFCC counsel informed the court that the former CBN Governor was suspected of purchasing the select properties by proxy, using the proceeds of fraud.
He claimed that Emefiele employed two current and one former CBN staff member as accomplices in the purported fraud.
According to the affidavit submitted in support of the application, the trio consists of Obayemi Oluwaseun Teben and Akomolafe Adebayo, who are collaborating with Olubunmi Makinde, a former CBN staff member, and other individuals.
The properties are primarily situated in affluent areas of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The EFCC was ordered by Justice Aneke to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper, allowing any interested party to demonstrate why the final forfeiture order should not be issued.
The judge subsequently deferred the hearing to consider the application for final forfeiture. No party appeared in court to contest the judge’s interim order upon the resumption on June 21, and Chineye Okezie submitted her application for permanent forfeiture.
