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Jun
Jun
COURT OF APPEAL NULLIFIES FINAL FORFEITURE ORDER ON EMEFIELE’S ASSETS
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CapitalTimesNews / 1 month
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The Court of Appeal in Lagos has set aside the final forfeiture order issued on the assets of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Government. The appellate court, in a split decision of two-to-one delivered on April 9, 2025, ordered a retrial of the case at the lower court. The assets in question include two detached duplexes at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped plot measuring 1,919.592 square meters on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; a bungalow at No. 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; and a four-bedroom duplex at No. 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi. Other assets include an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots in Agbor, Delta State; eight uncompleted apartment units on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; a detached duplex on Bank Road, Ikoyi; shares in Queensdorf Global Fund Limited; and $2,045,000 in cash. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had claimed that these assets were proceeds of unlawful activities. However, Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), argued that his client could afford these properties with his legitimate earnings. According to Justice Abdulazeez Anka, “These funds are the legitimate earnings of the appellant as provided and the contention of the appellant as I do comprehend is that from his earnings from the days he was at Zenith Bank up to his career as CBN governor for 10 years in office, he can be able to afford the said properties in contention.” Justice Anka further explained that Emefiele’s severance package from Zenith Bank exceeded N1.75 billion, and his annual remuneration as CBN Governor was N350 million per annum, with additional quarterly reimbursements and estacodes amounting to over $6 million. Given these earnings, the court held that a proper trial with oral evidence was necessary to determine the legitimacy of the assets. While the court reversed the forfeiture of the properties, it upheld the final forfeiture of the $2,045,000, as Emefiele did not contest it. Justice Mohammed Mustapha concurred with Justice Anka’s judgment, emphasizing that there was no legal barrier to properties being acquired in trust for someone else. Justice Danlami Senchi dissented, arguing that the call for oral evidence was unnecessary and a waste of judicial time. He believed the trial court’s decision was correct given that the companies used to purchase the properties did not challenge the forfeiture. Emefiele has also been arraigned before an FCT High Court for unlawfully acquiring a 753-home estate in Abuja, which has been forfeited to the federal government. He was granted bail in the sum of N2 billion.