Court orders final forfeiture of $4.7m, N830m linked to Emefiele

A federal high court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of $4.7 million, N830 million, and multiple properties linked to Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Yellim Bogoro, the presiding judge, granted the final forfeiture application brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a judgement delivered on Friday.

The forfeited funds were held in various bank accounts managed by individuals and entities, including Omoile Anita Joy, Deep Blue Energy Service Limited, Exactquote Bureau De Change Ltd, Lipam Investment Services Limited, Tatler Services Limited, Rosajul Global Resources Ltd, and TIL Communication Nigeria Ltd. The accounts were domiciled in First Bank, Titan Bank, and Zenith Bank.

The properties affected include a 94-unit, 11-floor building under construction in Ikoyi, Lagos; AM Plaza, an office complex in Lekki; Imore Industrial Park in Amuwo Odofin; a furniture plant in Ibeju-Lekki; two properties purchased from Chevron Nigeria in Lekki; and land at Lekki Foreshore Estate.

Other forfeited assets include an estate at 100 Cottonwood Coppel Texas Drive, Coppel, Texas, owned by Lipam Investment Services; land at 1 Bunmi Owulude Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; and a property at 8 Bayo Kuku Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The judge held that the transactions tied to these assets were not legitimate business activities.

He noted that the sudden difficulty in accessing dollars immediately after Emefiele’s exit from the CBN raised further suspicion about the sources of the funds.

He also described Omoile Anita Joy as a close associate of the former CBN governor, who allegedly had undue access to forex from the CBN.

“I find that the activities of the respondents here were unlawful. Why should they have a problem of dollars immediately Godwin Emefiele left CBN as a governor of the Bank and salary could not be made? I hold that they are not legitimate business activities,” the judge said.

“I hold that Anita Omoile is a close crony of the former CBN governor Godwin Emefiele who has been given undue influence to unlawfully sway dollars from CBN.

“Consequently, I find that all the monies and properties in the schedule are finally forfeited to the federal government of Nigeria.”