Emefiele: Court Orders Interim Forfeiture of $2.04m, Landed Properties, Shares Linked To Ex-CBN Governor

BY MICHAEL AKINOLA

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the interim forfeiture of a cash sum of $2.045million, seven choice landed properties and shares linked to the embattled former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele.

Justice Akintayo Aluko made the order on Thursday following an application filed and moved by Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who led Chineye C. Okezie and Zeenat Atiku Bala in a suit marked FHC/L/MISC/500/24.

The two shares certificates are of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust, while the properties are all located in the highbrow Lekki and Ikoyi parts of Lagos State and Agbor in Delta State.

The landed properties are listed as follows: “Two fully detached duplex of identical structures at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped/bare land, measuring 1919.592sqm with Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (Formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow at No. 65a Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, (Formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; four bedroom duplex at 12a Probyn Road, Ikoyi; Industrial complex under construction on a 22-plot of land in Agbor, Delta State; 8 units of undetached apartments 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.

Mr. Oyedepo informed the court that the money and other items sought to be forfeited were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

He relied on Section 17 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006, Section 44 (2)(B) of the 1999 Constitution and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

The SAN also supported the motion ex parte with an affidavit deposed to by an EFCC investigator, Idi Musa.

Justice Aluko after listening to Oyedepo submission, reading through all the processes filed and the plethora of legal authorities cited, granted the interim forfeiture of the money, the share certificates and the landed properties.

The judge also directed the EFCC to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper, which could be The Nation, Punch and the Guardian, to enable any anyone who is interested in the properties to appear before the Court and show cause within 14 days, why the final order of forfeiture of the said properties should not be made in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Further hearing of the matter has been adjourned to September 5.

In his affidavit, the deponent averred that he was “assigned to investigate the damning intelligence report received by the EFCC in respect of monumental fraudulent activities perpetrated by some senior officers of the Central Bank of Nigeria through which huge sums of money were fraudulently converted and transferred for personal use.

“The Commission, whilst investigating the alleged monumental fraud carried out by the immediate past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and his Cronies, traced and discovered several properties reasonably suspected to have been acquired and or developed with proceeds of unlawful activities.

“The said properties particularized in Schedules ‘A’ and ‘B’ herein, having been reasonably suspected to have been acquired/ developed with proceeds of unlawful activities are now sought to be forfeited to the federal Government of Nigeria in the interim.

“In the cause of this investigation, it was revealed that the erstwhile CBN governor negotiates kickbacks in return for allocation of Foreign Exchange to some companies who were in desperate need of foreign exchange for their lawful and legitimate businesses.

Justice Aluko adjourned further hearing until 5 September, 2024.