The Supreme Court has restored the final forfeiture of seven luxury properties linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, overturning an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal that had ordered a retrial of the forfeiture proceedings.
The decision was delivered on Friday by a unanimous five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, which allowed the appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.
The judgment was read on behalf of the panel by Justice Mohammed Idris.
With the ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos, who had on November 1, 2024, ordered the final forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government after holding that they were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The EFCC’s appeal was argued by a legal team led by former Attorney General of the Federation Kanu Agabi (SAN), alongside the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN).
Godwin Emefiele was represented by Senior Advocates of Nigeria Olalekan Ojo and Labi Lawal.
The Supreme Court’s verdict effectively ends Emefiele’s legal challenge to the forfeiture order and restores ownership of the listed assets to the Federal Government.
The assets affected by the judgment include:
- Two fully detached duplexes located at 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
- An undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi.
- A bungalow at 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi.
- A four-bedroom duplex located at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi.
- An industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State.
- Eight apartment units on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi.
- A duplex situated on a 2,217.87 square metre plot at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi.
In addition to the landed properties, Justice Dipeolu had also ordered the forfeiture of $2.045 million in cash and share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust, an aspect of the ruling that was not challenged by the defence.
The Federal High Court granted the EFCC’s application for final forfeiture in November 2024 after finding that the Commission had sufficiently established that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
However, in June 2025, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned the judgment, holding that individuals claiming ownership interests in some of the properties were denied a fair hearing during the proceedings.
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The appellate court consequently ordered that the case be returned to the Federal High Court for fresh proceedings, allowing all interested parties to present evidence.
The EFCC challenged that decision before the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court of Appeal erred in setting aside the forfeiture order.
In its judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court agreed with the Commission’s submissions, nullified the Court of Appeal’s ruling and reinstated the final forfeiture order issued by the Federal High Court.
The ruling conclusively vests ownership of the listed properties, cash and other forfeited assets in the Federal Government, bringing the long-running legal dispute over the assets to a close.