Nigeria's Supreme Court Delivers Final Blow To Emefiele

 

For years, the story of Godwin Emefiele has moved through Nigeria's courts like a very expensive piece of luggage that nobody seemed willing to claim, and after passing through the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal and finally reaching the Supreme Court, the country's highest court has now delivered its verdict on a significant part of the former Central Bank Governor's property empire.

The Supreme Court has affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, $2.045 million and share certificates linked to Emefiele, meaning the assets are now forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. In a unanimous decision delivered on Friday by a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the apex court set aside the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal and restored the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

The original forfeiture order was made by Justice Deinde Dipeolu on November 1, 2024, after the court held that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities. Emefiele challenged that decision at the Court of Appeal in Lagos, and the appellate court overturned the order after finding that some interested parties who claimed ownership of certain assets had not been given a fair hearing, leading to an order for a fresh hearing.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was not satisfied with that outcome, so the agency took the matter to the Supreme Court and asked the apex court to restore the original forfeiture order. On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed with the EFCC and reinstated the Federal High Court judgment, effectively transferring the forfeited assets to the Federal Government.

And this is where the list begins to look less like a normal property portfolio and more like a real estate exhibition that forgot to close down.

The forfeited assets include a fully detached duplex made up of identical structures at Hakeem Odumosu Street in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, an undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, formerly known as Queens Drive, in Ikoyi, a bungalow also located on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive and a four-bedroom duplex on Probyn Road in Ikoyi.

The list also includes an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State, eight units of undetached apartments built on a 2,457.60-square-metre plot on Adekunle Lawal Road in Ikoyi and a full duplex with all its appurtenances on Bank Road in Ikoyi.

Because apparently, when the EFCC says it is investigating assets, it may need a property map, a calculator and possibly comfortable shoes.

The Supreme Court also affirmed the forfeiture of $2.045 million and share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited, with the assets now vesting in the Federal Government following the final order.

The case began after the EFCC approached the Federal High Court through its legal team, relying on the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act and the Nigerian Constitution to seek the final forfeiture of assets it said were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through unlawful activities. The application was filed as an action in rem, which means the proceedings focused on the assets themselves, while an affidavit from an EFCC investigating officer, David Jayeoba, stated that investigations had raised suspicions about the source of the assets.

Justice Dipeolu subsequently granted the final forfeiture application on November 1, 2024, after finding that the commission had met the legal threshold required for civil forfeiture proceedings. The Court of Appeal later overturned that decision, but the Supreme Court has now reversed the appellate court and restored the original order.

The ruling is part of a wider series of legal proceedings involving Emefiele since his removal as CBN Governor in 2023. The former apex bank chief is facing multiple criminal charges in Abuja and Lagos over allegations including procurement fraud, abuse of office and other financial crimes, all of which he has consistently denied.

He has also faced several interim and final forfeiture proceedings as the EFCC continues its asset recovery drive, and this latest Supreme Court decision means that the seven properties, the millions of dollars and the share certificates covered by this particular case will remain with the Federal Government.

So, after years of legal back and forth, the Supreme Court has finally decided that these particular mansions, lands, apartments, industrial property, dollars and shares are no longer waiting for another plot twist.

The Nigerian legal system may move slowly, but when the final judgment eventually arrives, even the property documents may need to start packing their bags.