A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday ordered a final forfeiture of 2.04 million dollars linked to the suspended Central Bank Governor (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who over the past months has been charged with series of financial fraud allegations based on suites filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
The presiding judge of the court, Justice Isaac Dipeolu, also ordered the final forfeiture of landed properties as well as share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Ltd Trust, all linked to the embattled former apex bank governor.
The court’s final orders of forfeiture were made after holding that Emefiele or any other interested party did not contest the suite after an earlier interim forfeiture order, and held that the respondent was not able to connect his lawful earnings from Zenith Bank and the CBN to acquisition of the properties.
The EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) had, by a motion on August 15 this year, sought an order to forfeit the properties on grounds that they were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities
He maintained that the orders sought were pursuant to Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, Section 44 (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
Prior to Friday’s ruling, the court had granted the interim order of forfeiture on the properties and had adjourned for any interested party to appear in court and show cause why its order should be lifted.
In its ruling on Friday, the court held that the respondent failed to provide documents or links to show that he owned the properties, adding that the conclusion that can be deduced is that there must be something dark about acquisition of the properties, which the respondent and the companies did not want to disclose.
Following the prosecution counsel’s argument, Justice Dipeolu consequently, held that “the interested party has failed to demonstrate any lawful interest in the properties and that they were acquired from his legitimate earnings”.
“I, therefore order the final forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria, of all those properties, which are reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities”, the judge added.
The properties in the suites filed by the anti-graft commission were two fully detached duplexes of identical structures, lying being and situated at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
Also included were an undeveloped land, measuring 1919.592sqm at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow at No. 65a Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos and a four-bedroom duplex at 12a Probyn Road, Ikoyi.
Others are an industrial complex under construction, 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of an undetached apartment at No. 8a Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, and a full duplex together with all its appurtenances on a plot of land at 2a Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
