The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured a final forfeiture of a warehouse linked to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Top sources revealed that Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos issued the order on Thursday, December 19, 2024, with the property forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The warehouse, located on a 1.925-hectare plot along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Magboro, contained 54 general-purpose steel containers filled with sewing machines of various types.
This follows the court’s initial directive on November 28, 2024, when Justice Dipeolu ordered an interim forfeiture of the assets after the EFCC moved an application for their seizure. The court had mandated the EFCC to publish the order in two national newspapers to allow any interested parties to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.
During the hearing on December 19, EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, confirmed compliance with the court’s directive and requested a final forfeiture, citing Section 44(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
Justice Dipeolu granted the final forfeiture, marking another significant achievement in the EFCC’s ongoing asset recovery efforts. The court also ordered the forfeiture of the land on which the warehouse is situated.
