THE Supreme Court has restored the final forfeiture of seven high-value properties linked to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, overturning an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal that had ordered a retrial of the case.
News Point Nigeria reports that a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, unanimously allowed the appeal and set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which had earlier overturned the forfeiture order granted by the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The appellate court had previously nullified the final forfeiture order and directed that the matter be reheard. However, in its ruling delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court restored the decision of the trial court, effectively returning the seven properties to the Federal Government through final forfeiture.
The judgment also brings to a close Emefiele’s legal challenge against the forfeiture order issued by the Federal High Court.
Recall that Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on November 1, 2024, ordered the final forfeiture of $2.045 million, seven landed properties and two share certificates belonging to Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust, all linked to the former CBN governor.
Justice Dipeolu made the order after hearing a motion on notice filed and argued by a team of lawyers led by Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) on behalf of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The forfeited properties include two fully detached duplexes of identical structures located at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped plot measuring 1,919.592 square metres with Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, formerly Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow at No. 65A, Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; and a four-bedroom duplex located at 12A, Probyn Road, Ikoyi.
Other assets affected by the forfeiture order include an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of an undetached apartment on a plot measuring 2,457.60 square metres at No. 8A, Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; and a full duplex with all its facilities on a plot of land measuring 2,217.87 square metres at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
In March 2025, Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos also ordered the permanent forfeiture of $1.4 million linked to alleged fraud involving Emefiele.
However, in June 2025, the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned the decision, holding that interested parties who claimed ownership of some of the assets had not been given a fair hearing.
The appellate court subsequently directed that the case be returned to the Federal High Court for fresh proceedings and for evidence to be taken from all parties involved.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the EFCC approached the Supreme Court, urging the apex court to restore the judgment of the Federal High Court.
In its judgment delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the anti-graft agency’s arguments, set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal and reinstated the final forfeiture order issued by the Federal High Court, thereby vesting the listed properties in the Federal Government.