Abuja, Nigeria – Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has petitioned the Court of Appeal in Abuja to overturn a judgment that granted the government full control of a substantial 753-unit housing estate in the Lokogoma district of Abuja.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had previously obtained a court order to seize the sprawling estate. While initially linked to another unnamed former government official, Mr. Emefiele, through his legal representative A.M. Kotoye, argues that he holds an interest in the property and should have been involved in the forfeiture proceedings. He is now seeking the Appeal Court’s reversal of the lower court’s ruling.
“I was unaware of the forfeiture,” Emefiele asserts in his appeal. He informed the court that the EFCC published the interim forfeiture notice in an “obscure section of a newspaper,” making it difficult to detect. Additionally, he cited the simultaneous management of three criminal cases in Abuja and Lagos as a hindrance to noticing the publication. Emefiele further accused the EFCC of deliberately concealing the forfeiture case from him, despite their ongoing engagement on other charges.
The trial court, however, dismissed his claims, ruling that the EFCC had followed due process and that the newspaper notice “could not reasonably be described as hidden.”
Dissatisfied with this decision, Emefiele lodged an appeal on April 30, 2025. He is requesting the Court of Appeal to reverse the judgment delivered on April 28, 2025, annul the interim and final forfeiture orders dated November 1 and December 2, 2024, respectively, and grant his application filed on January 28, 2025.
He argued that the trial court had “misconstrued his application and erroneously dismissed it without proper consideration of critical facts,” asserting that the orders were founded on “hearsay, suspicion, and no proper evidence.” Emefiele also maintained that he possessed both legal and equitable interests in the estate, despite the court’s assertion that he failed to provide proof of ownership. “The entire ruling is a miscarriage of justice,” Emefiele declared, adding that “the orders were made in breach of the 1999 Constitution and are therefore null and void.”
Meanwhile, Emefiele’s legal team has reportedly written to the Minister of Housing, urging the government to halt all plans to sell the estate until the appeal is resolved. “We are aware that the properties may soon be sold to the public. We have already served the EFCC with a notice of appeal and an injunction,” the letter stated. The federal government had recently announced intentions to auction the estate to low- and middle-income Nigerians.
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