The Supreme Court has affirmed the final forfeiture of properties and $2.045 million linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Government.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court overturned the June 2025 ruling of the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which had set aside the forfeiture order and directed that the case be retried.
The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal erred in reversing the judgment of the Federal High Court, which had ordered the permanent forfeiture of the assets.
On November 1, 2024, Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of $2.045 million, seven landed properties and two share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust linked to Emefiele. The court ruled that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through proceeds of unlawful activities.
The forfeited properties include two detached duplexes in Lekki Phase 1, an undeveloped parcel of land and a bungalow on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive in Ikoyi, a four-bedroom duplex on Probyn Road in Ikoyi, an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State, eight apartment units on Adekunle Lawal Road in Ikoyi, and another duplex on Bank Road in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The Court of Appeal had ruled in June 2025 that Emefiele’s legitimate earnings could have accounted for the acquisition of the properties and ordered a retrial of the case. However, it upheld the forfeiture of the $2.045 million, noting that the funds were not contested.
The Supreme Court’s latest judgment restores the original forfeiture order, bringing the legal dispute over the assets to a close.
