The Court of Appeal in Abuja has been petitioned by former Governor Godwin Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria to reverse a ruling that gave the government exclusive control of a sizable estate in Abuja that included 753 residential units.
The estate is located in Abuja’s Lokogoma neighbourhood, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had previously secured a court order to take possession of it.
At first, another unidentified former government figure was connected to the residence. However, Emefiele argues that since he has a stake in the property, he should have been participating in the proceedings through his attorney, A.M. Kotoye. He is now requesting that the lower court’s decision be overturned by the Appeal Court.
“I was unaware of the forfeiture,” Emefiele asserts.
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, Emefiele explained that he was simultaneously managing three criminal cases in both Abuja and Lagos, which hindered his ability to notice the publication.
He further accused the EFCC of deliberately concealing the forfeiture case from him, despite their ongoing engagement with him on other charges.
The trial court, however, dismissed his claim, ruling that the EFCC had followed due process and that the newspaper notice was sufficient.
The judge declared that the notice “could not reasonably be described as hidden.”
Dissatisfied, Emefiele lodged an appeal on April 30, 2025, 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 2 December 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.
He added, “The failure of the trial judge to properly evaluate the affidavit and documents before him is perverse and has caused a miscarriage of justice.
“The orders were made in breach of the 1999 Constitution and are therefore null and void.”
Meanwhile, Emefiele’s legal team has 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.