Court Rules on Emefiele's $2m Forfeiture Case

The Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday accepted a Supreme Court ruling about the forfeiture of seven properties, $2.045 million, and share certificates linked to the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele. This ruling is now part of Emefiele's trial over alleged fraud involving $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion.

Trial judge Rahman Oshodi accepted the certified true copy of the judgement as Exhibit L in the case against Mr Emefiele. The judge dismissed objections from the defence, stating that a certified true copy of a Supreme Court judgement qualifies as a public document.

He also clarified that presenting only the main judgement does not make the document incomplete or inadmissible. Still, Judge Oshodi limited its use to showing what the Supreme Court decided in the earlier case. He said it could not be used as evidence for or against any of the defendants in the ongoing trial.

The prosecution team, led by Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, submitted the judgement through an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigator, Alvan Gurumnaan. Mr Emefiele’s lawyer, Ojo Olalekan, also a Senior Advocate, opposed the admission. He argued that the copy submitted was signed by only four justices, while Supreme Court decisions are usually made by five or seven justices.

Ojo also claimed that the judgement came from non-conviction-based forfeiture actions and was not relevant to the charges against his client. The lawyer for the second defendant, Henry Omoile, Adeyinka Kotoye, also a Senior Advocate, supported the objection and asked the court to reject the document.

But Mr Oyedepo argued that the judgement was a certified public document that met the rules of Sections 102 and 104 of the Evidence Act. The judgement was delivered on July 17 by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, who is now retired.

The court reversed a decision made by the Court of Appeal that had cancelled a Federal High Court order for the total forfeiture of the assets. It reinstated the order made by Justice D.I. Dipeolu on November 1, 2024, after an appeal by the EFCC.

The forfeited assets include seven properties, $2.045 million, and share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited. The properties include a duplex located at 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1; an undeveloped land and a bungalow on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive in Ikoyi; and a four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi.

Other properties are an industrial complex being built on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight apartments at 8A Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; and a duplex at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi. The EFCC stated that its investigation found that the assets were likely acquired through illegal activities. The commission sought their forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006.

After the ruling, Mr Gurumnaan continued to face cross-examination from the defence. He told the court that he personally gathered statements, reviewed bank records, and coordinated with other team members during the investigation.

The investigator confirmed that he interviewed Zenith Bank’s Managing Director, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, but could not quickly recall if a statement was taken from him after the interview. He added that the investigation involved hundreds of interviews with CBN officials, commercial bank staff, and personnel from other government agencies.

In the previous court session, Mr Gurumnaan mentioned that investigators traced several properties worth billions of naira to Mr Emefiele through his associates. He alleged that some of the former CBN governor’s associates received money and obtained properties on his behalf.

Among the properties listed were twin duplexes in Lekki Phase 1, two mansions on Queens Drive, Ikoyi, an 11-storey building under construction with about 94 luxury flats, and an estate of around 750 houses in the Lokogoma area of Abuja. He also said investigators found more than $2 million in the office of a lawyer, Ifeanyi Omeke, who allegedly acted as a front for Mr Emefiele.

The Lokogoma estate was part of a different EFCC case where Mr Emefiele was accused of acquiring 753 housing units with an alleged accomplice, Eric Ocheme. That estate was later forfeited to the federal government.

Mr Emefiele is on trial together with his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, facing 22 charges. Nineteen of the charges against Mr Emefiele include receiving bribes, corrupt demands, and abuse of office in transactions worth $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion. The other three charges against Mr Omoile involve accepting gifts unlawfully.