Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Friday restored a final forfeiture order on seven properties and $2.045 million linked to former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele, overturning a Court of Appeal ruling and handing a major win to the anti-graft agency.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris on behalf of a five-member panel led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Musa Saulawa, the apex court set aside the 2025 Court of Appeal decision that had nullified the forfeiture and ordered a fresh hearing.
The court reinstated the 2024 ruling of Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which had ordered the assets forfeited to the Federal Government after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) proved they were proceeds of unlawful activity.
The forfeited assets include seven properties in Lagos and Delta states and $2.045 million in cash.
The Lagos properties are:
– Two fully detached duplexes at 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1
– 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 at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi
– Eight apartment units on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi
– A duplex on Bank Road, Ikoyi
The Delta asset is an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor.
Also forfeited were share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited.
Emefiele challenged the Federal High Court forfeiture order at the Court of Appeal. In 2025, the appellate court allowed the appeal, voided the order and directed a retrial.
The EFCC appealed to the Supreme Court through a team led by Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, with Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, and Abba Mohammed, SAN. Emefiele was represented by Olalekan Ojo, SAN, Labi Lawal, SAN, and Olawale Fapohunda.
The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal erred in setting aside the forfeiture and ordering a fresh hearing.
The ruling concludes a legal dispute that began after the EFCC secured the initial forfeiture order in Lagos in 2024.
The commission described the judgment as a significant boost to its asset recovery drive targeting alleged proceeds of corruption.
Emefiele, who headed the CBN from 2014 until his suspension in 2023, is facing multiple corruption charges in separate cases before Nigerian courts. He has denied wrongdoing.
No immediate comment was available from Emefiele’s legal team.