EMEFIELE CHALLENGES FINAL FORFEITURE ORDER ON 753-HOUSING UNIT ESTATE

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By: Motunrayo Aniwura

Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, challenging a judgment that awarded full ownership of a 753-unit housing estate in Abuja to the federal government.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had previously secured a court order to confiscate the estate located in the Lokogoma area of the capital.

Though the property was initially linked to another unnamed ex-government official, Emefiele, through his lawyer A.M. Kotoye, argues that he has a vested interest in the estate and should have been included in the legal process. He is now urging the appellate court to overturn the lower court’s decision.

“I was unaware of the forfeiture,” Emefiele asserts.

Godwin Emefiele informed the Court of Appeal that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) published the interim forfeiture notice in a barely visible section of a newspaper, making it nearly impossible for him to discover.

He also noted that he was simultaneously handling three separate criminal cases in both Abuja and Lagos, which limited his ability to come across the notice in question.

Emefiele went on to accuse the EFCC of intentionally hiding the forfeiture proceedings from him, even though they were actively pursuing other legal actions against him at the time.

Despite his arguments, the trial court rejected his claims, stating that the EFCC had adhered to due legal process and that the publication in the newspaper was adequate notification.

The judge declared that the notice “could not reasonably be described as hidden.”

Dissatisfied, Emefiele lodged an appeal on April 30, 2025, requesting the Court of Appeal to: reverse the judgment delivered on April 28, 2025; annul the interim and final forfeiture orders dated November 1 and 2 December 2024 respectively; and grant his application filed on January 28, 2025.

He argued that the trial court had misconstrued his application and erroneously dismissed it without proper consideration of critical facts, asserting that the orders were founded on “hearsay, suspicion, and no proper evidence.”

Emefiele also maintained that he possessed both legal and equitable interests in the estate, despite the court’s assertion that he failed to provide proof of ownership.

“The entire ruling is a miscarriage of justice,” Emefiele declared.
He added, “The failure of the trial judge to properly evaluate the affidavit and documents before him is perverse and has caused a miscarriage of justice.

“The orders were made in breach of the 1999 Constitution and are therefore null and void.”

Meanwhile, Emefiele’s legal team has written to the Minister of Housing, urging the government to halt all plans to sell the estate until the appeal is resolved.

“We are aware that the properties may soon be sold to the public. We have already served the EFCC with a notice of appeal and an injunction,” the letter stated.

The federal government had recently announced intentions to auction the estate to low- and middle-income Nigerians.