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Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has petitioned the Court of Appeal in Abuja to overturn a judgment granting the government full control of a substantial estate in Abuja comprising 753 housing units.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had earlier obtained a court order to seize the estate, situated in the Lokogoma district of Abuja.
Initially, the estate was linked to another unnamed former government official. However, Emefiele, through his legal representative A.M. Kotoye, contends that he ought to have been involved in the proceedings, as he holds an interest in the property. He is now seeking the Appeal Court’s reversal of the lower court’s ruling.
“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.
