The Supreme Court has restored the final forfeiture of assets linked to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, overturning a judgment of the Court of Appeal that had ordered a fresh hearing of the case.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the apex court allowed the appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.
The ruling effectively reinstates the final forfeiture order earlier granted by the Federal High Court in Lagos, bringing to an end Emefiele’s legal challenge against the confiscation of the assets.
The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal erred in nullifying the forfeiture order and directing that the matter be retried at the lower court.
Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu of the Federal High Court had earlier granted the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture of the properties and funds after ruling that the anti-graft agency had sufficiently established its case regarding the assets.
Emefiele, through his counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, challenged the ruling before the Court of Appeal, which, in its 2025 judgment, nullified the forfeiture order and directed that the proceedings begin afresh before the Federal High Court.
The EFCC, dissatisfied with the appellate court’s decision, approached the Supreme Court.
At the apex court, the anti-graft agency was represented by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, and Abba Mohammed, SAN.
Allowing the EFCC’s appeal, the Supreme Court nullified the judgment of the Court of Appeal and restored in its entirety the final forfeiture order issued by Justice Dipeolu.
The assets covered by the order include two fully detached duplexes located at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, an undeveloped 1,919.592-square-metre parcel of land 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.
Also forfeited are an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State, eight apartment units on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, and a duplex on Bank Road, Ikoyi.
The Supreme Court further reinstated the forfeiture of $2.045 million in cash and share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited.
Under the ruling, all the forfeited assets are to be transferred to the Federal Government in line with the final forfeiture order issued by the Federal High Court.
