The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of some properties linked to the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu on Friday, ordered the permanent forfeiture of the monies and the two share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust, after holding that the Emefiele or any other interested party did not contest same after the initial interim forfeiture.
The court also forfeited seven choice landed properties on the ground that the former CBN governor was unable to connect his lawful earnings from Zenith Bank and CBN to the acquisition of the properties.
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The court held that the Emefiele failed to provide documents or links to show that he owned the properties.
Recall that EFCC had listed the companies as; Amrash Ventures Limited, Modern Hotels Limited, Finebury Properties Limited, Fidelity Express Services Limited, H & Y Business Global Limited and SDEM Erectors Nigeria Limited.
Justice Dipeolu said: “the conclusion that can be deduced is that there must be something dark about the acquisition of the properties which Emefiele and the companies does not want to come to light.”
“That the interested party has failed to demonstrate any lawful interest in the properties and that they were aquired from his legitimate earnings.
READ MORE: Emefiele Ordered Me Not To Keep Records Of Money Collected For Him – Witness Tells Court
“I therefore order the final forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria of all those properties…which are reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
The properties are: two fully detached duplexes of identical structures, lying being and situated at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped land, measuring 1919.592sqm with Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (Formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow at No. 65a Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, (Formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos and a four-bedroom duplex at 12a Probyn Road, Ikoyi.
Others are an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; 8 units of an undetached apartment on a plot measuring 2457.60sqm at No. 8a Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, and a full duplex together with all its appurtenances on a plot of land measuring 2217.87sqm at 2a Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
