The Supreme Court has brought the protracted legal battle over properties linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to a close by restoring the final forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, overturned an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which had nullified the forfeiture order and directed that the matter be retried.
The Supreme Court upheld the appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ruling that the judgment of the Federal High Court ordering the permanent forfeiture of the properties should stand.
The decision effectively ends Emefiele’s legal challenge against the forfeiture proceedings and vests the disputed assets in the Federal Government.
The case dates back to November 1, 2024, when Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, granted the EFCC’s application for the final forfeiture of $2.045 million, seven landed properties and two share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust linked to the former CBN governor.
The application was argued by a team of lawyers led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Rotimi Oyedepo, on behalf of the anti-graft agency.
The forfeited assets include two fully detached duplexes on Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase I; an undeveloped plot measuring 1,919.592 square metres and a bungalow on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; as well as a four-bedroom duplex on Probyn Road, Ikoyi, all in Lagos.
In a separate ruling delivered in March 2025, the Federal High Court also ordered the permanent forfeiture of $1.4 million linked to alleged fraud involving Emefiele.
However, in June 2025, the Court of Appeal set aside the forfeiture order after holding that individuals claiming ownership of some of the assets had not been given a fair hearing. The appellate court subsequently directed the Federal High Court to conduct a fresh hearing and receive evidence from all interested parties.
Unhappy with the decision, the EFCC approached the Supreme Court, asking it to overturn the appellate court’s judgment and restore the original forfeiture order.
Delivering its final verdict on Friday, the apex court agreed with the Commission’s arguments, nullified the Court of Appeal’s decision and reinstated the Federal High Court’s judgment, bringing the legal dispute over Emefiele’s properties to an end and confirming their permanent forfeiture to the Federal Government.
