The Supreme Court, on Friday, affirmed the permanent forfeiture of seven landed properties alongside over $2 million and share certificates linked to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to the federal government.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a five-member panel, the Supreme Court set aside the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Lagos which lifted the forfeiture order on the assets.
The Federal High Court, Lagos, had ordered the final forfeiture of the assets because they were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
Following the final forfeiture order made by the Federal High Court, Mr Emefiele challenged the decision before the Court of Appeal, which reversed the judgement of the trial court.
Displeased with the appellate court’s decision, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) approached the Supreme Court, which on Friday restored and affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court.
