Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to overturn a ruling that granted the Federal Government full ownership of a large estate in Abuja, which comprises 753 residential units.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier secured a Court order for the confiscation of the estate, located in the Lokogoma area of Abuja.
The property was initially traced to and recovered from an unidentified Ex-Government official.
However, Emefiele, through his legal counsel, A.M. Kotoye, filed a motion to be recognized as an interested party in the matter, arguing that he should have been included in the legal process.
He is now asking the appellate Court to reverse the decision of the lower Court. In his application, Emefiele requested additional time to challenge both the interim and final forfeiture orders that were issued on December 2 and December 24, 2024, respectively.
Emefiele informed the Court that he was unaware of the forfeiture proceedings at the time they were conducted. He claimed the EFCC published the notice of the interim forfeiture in an obscure portion of a newspaper, which made it hard for him to become aware of and respond to it promptly. He further told the Court that he was facing three different criminal trials in Abuja and Lagos during that period, which hindered him from noticing the publication.
Emefiele also accused the EFCC of intentionally hiding the forfeiture proceedings from him, even though they were regularly communicating with him concerning his other pending legal matters.
In a ruling delivered by Justice J.O. Onwuegbuzie, the Court dismissed Emefiele’s application, stating that Section 17(2) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, governs how notices should be issued in forfeiture matters.
The Judge also ruled that Emefiele’s argument about the notice being hidden was unconvincing, pointing out that a half-page publication in a national newspaper could not reasonably be described as obscure. Dissatisfied with the outcome, Emefiele filed an appeal dated April 30, 2025, through his lawyer Kotoye, asking the appellate Court to grant five specific reliefs.
In the appeal, Emefiele is listed as the appellant, while the EFCC is the sole respondent. He is requesting that the appeal be allowed and that the judgment of the lower Court be nullified.
Emefiele based his appeal on four key grounds, expressing complete dissatisfaction with the entire verdict of the lower Court.
He argued that both the interim and final forfeiture orders, along with the entire lower Court proceedings, were invalid as they were based on assumptions and hearsay, which are not admissible in Court.
The appellant also contended that there was no legal violation in the acquisition of the estate that could justify invoking Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) or Section 17(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act.
According to him, the interim and final forfeiture orders were issued in breach of Section 44(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), rendering them legally void.
He emphasized that in the grounds supporting his application, he clearly established his interest in the property, both from a legal and equitable standpoint.
Meanwhile, in a letter dated May 26, 2025, addressed to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Emefiele’s co-counsel, A.O.M. Adebowale, alerted the minister to the pending appeal regarding the contested property.
The letter appealed to the Minister to refrain from taking any further steps concerning the estate until the appeal is resolved.
“We are writing to inform you about the ongoing appeal at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, in respect of the ruling delivered by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Apo, on April 28 by Hon. Justice J.O. Onwuegbuzie. We have received information that the properties in question have been handed over to the Ministry of Works and Housing and are set to be made available to the public through an auction process. We served the EFCC’s legal department with the notice of appeal on May 2, 2025, and followed up with a notice of injunction on May 22, 2025. In view of these developments, we respectfully request that no further action be taken on the disputed property until the appeal has been adjudicated.”
The legal dispute over the ownership of the estate remains unresolved until the decision of the Court of Appeal is made known.
