Supreme Court Clears FG to Take Over Emefiele’s Seven Properties
Seven prime properties spread across Lagos and Delta State, along with 2.045 million dollars in cash and two share certificates linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, have been permanently forfeited to the Federal Government after the Supreme Court on Friday, July 17, 2026, brought a two year legal contest to a decisive close.
A five member panel of the apex court led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa unanimously set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, and restored the ruling of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which had held that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities. The lead judgment was read by Justice Mohammed Idris, who affirmed the forfeiture order made by Justice Deinde Dipeolu on November 1, 2024, in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/500/24.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had approached the Supreme Court after the appellate court reversed the trial court in June 2025. In that earlier decision, delivered by Justice Abdulazeez Anka, the Court of Appeal held that Emefiele’s legitimate earnings could reasonably have acquired the properties and ordered a fresh hearing, on the grounds that interested parties claiming ownership had been denied fair hearing. The appellate court, however, noted that Emefiele did not contest the forfeiture of the 2.045 million dollars. The Supreme Court found that the appellate court erred in nullifying the order and directing a retrial.
The forfeited real estate includes a fully detached duplex of identical structures at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1; an undeveloped 1,919.592 square metre parcel on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, formerly Queens Drive, Ikoyi; a bungalow at No. 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; and a four bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi. Also seized are an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of apartments on a 2,457.60 square metre plot at No. 8A Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; and a full duplex on a 2,217.87 square metre plot at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi. Alongside the cash, the court affirmed the forfeiture of share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited.
The application had been filed by the Commission through the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended. Brought as an action in rem, it relied on an affidavit deposed to by an EFCC investigator, David Jayeoba, who stated that the assets were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity. Before the apex court, the Commission was led by a former Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), with Oyedepo and Abba Mohammed (SAN), while Emefiele was represented by Olalekan Ojo (SAN) and Labi Lawal (SAN).
A point of legal significance is that Friday’s outcome is a civil forfeiture, obtained on the standard of reasonable suspicion and without any criminal conviction against Emefiele. It therefore stands apart from the criminal proceedings still pending against him. Emefiele, who ran the apex bank from 2014 until his removal by President Bola Tinubu in June 2023, is facing multiple charges in Abuja and Lagos bordering on alleged procurement fraud, abuse of office and other financial crimes, all of which he has consistently denied.
The ruling adds to a widening trail of assets recovered from the former governor since he left office. In December 2024, the EFCC secured the final forfeiture of a 753 unit housing estate in the Lokogoma District of Abuja, described by the agency as its largest single asset recovery since it was established in 2003. The estate, sitting on Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, and spanning about 150,500 square metres, was forfeited by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court. According to court filings, the EFCC alleged the property was funded through kickbacks tied to foreign exchange allocations and contracts awarded during Emefiele’s tenure. His attempt to reclaim it was dismissed in April 2025, and the estate was handed to the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development in May 2025, with plans to complete and sell the units to low and middle income Nigerians.
The recoveries sit within a broader enforcement push. The EFCC has reported recovering 364.5 billion naira and 326.5 million dollars in a single year, alongside more than 750 duplexes, parcels of land, vehicles and cryptocurrency holdings, while securing 4,111 convictions. Over a two year window, the agency put its haul at 566 billion naira, 411 million dollars and 1,502 properties.
With the Supreme Court being the final court of the land, the affirmation forecloses further appeal on the forfeiture, clearing the way for the Federal Government to take full title to the Lagos and Delta properties. Attention now turns to Emefiele’s outstanding criminal trials, whose outcomes remain untested and where the presumption of innocence continues to apply.