LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of properties valued at over N12.18 billion, belonging to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The properties will be forfeited to the Federal Government.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke issued the final forfeiture order on Friday after considering a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by counsel Chineye Okezie.
The judge said: “Having carefully considered the application and submission of counsel, it is hereby ordered as follows: – that a final forfeiture order of this honourable court is hereby made forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, properties contained in Schedule A herein which were traced and reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
The property included shops and apartments at Cadastral Zone Maitama and Wuse.
Aneke said: “A final forfeiture order of this Honourable Court is, hereby, made forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, properties contained in Schedule B herein which properties were traced to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
The properties included lands and apartments, valued at a total of N1.04 billion, which were paid for on behalf of Oluwaseun.
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Obayemi Oluwaseun Teben and Akomolafe Adebayo working with Olubunmi Makinde “used their positions and Influence as CBN staff to secure retail and Special allocation of Foreign Exchange to different companies in exchange for kickbacks, according to the affidavit.
“That OLUBUNMI MAKINDE is the link between OBAYEMI OLUWASEUN TEBEN and AKOMOLAFE ADEBAYO and the various companies applying for the purchase of foreign exchange.
“That OBAYEMI OLUWASEUN TEBEN and AKOMOLAFE ADEBAYO as staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria have access to the bidding processes and bidding Data of companies who have applied for the approval of form Ms to the CBN through their various commercial banks.”
On June 5, 2024, Justice Aneke granted an interim forfeiture following a motion by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo.
Oyedepo informed the court that Emefiele was suspected of using proceeds from fraud to purchase the properties by proxy.
The judge instructed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper, calling on interested parties to provide reasons why the final forfeiture order should not be issued.
Subsequently, the judge set a date for the final forfeiture motion hearing.
On June 21, no parties appeared in court to contest the interim order, as a result, Chineye Okezie proceeded with her motion for permanent forfeiture.
After examining a 41-paragraph affidavit submitted by EFCC Investigating Officer Michael John Idoko, along with 19 attached exhibits and a written address from Okezie, Justice Aneke approved the application for permanent forfeiture.
The EFCC categorized the properties into two schedules, Schedule A and Schedule B.