Abayomi Susan
The Supreme Court has affirmed the final forfeiture of seven landed properties, $2.045 million and share certificates linked to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Government.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, July 17, 2026, a five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal and restored the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which ordered the final forfeiture of the assets after finding they were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities.
The ruling marks the end of the legal battle over the assets, following Emefiele’s appeal against the Federal High Court’s forfeiture order. Although the Court of Appeal had overturned the trial court’s decision, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) challenged that ruling before the Supreme Court, which has now reinstated the forfeiture order.
The assets forfeited to the Federal Government include:
- A fully detached duplex comprising identical structures at 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos;
- An undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos;
- A bungalow located at 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos;
- A four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi, Lagos;
- An industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State;
- Eight units of undetached apartments on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; and
- A full duplex with all its appurtenances on 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The apex court also upheld the forfeiture of $2,045,000 (Two Million, Forty-Five Thousand United States Dollars) and the share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited to the Federal Government.
The assets were initially ordered forfeited on November 1, 2024, by Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/500/24, following an application filed by the EFCC through its counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Director of Public Prosecutions.
The application was brought under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), seeking the final forfeiture of assets reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
In support of the application, an affidavit sworn by David Jayeoba, an EFCC investigating officer, stated that investigations established reasonable grounds to suspect that the assets were acquired through unlawful means.
The EFCC argued that the properties, funds and share certificates were liable to forfeiture under the relevant provisions of the law, having been reasonably linked to proceeds of unlawful activities.
With the Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict, the final forfeiture of the seven properties, $2.045 million, and the share certificates to the Federal Government has now been conclusively upheld, bringing the legal proceedings over the assets to a close.
