Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to overturn a judgment that granted the Nigerian government full control of a vast estate in Abuja, which comprises 753 housing units.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had previously secured a court order to seize the estate, located in the Lokogoma district of Abuja.
Initially, the property was linked to an unnamed former government official, Persecondnews reports.
Emefiele, represented by his lawyer Mr. A.M. Kotoye (SAN), argues that he has a vested interest in the property and should have been included in the forfeiture proceedings.
He claims the EFCC deliberately concealed the interim forfeiture notice by publishing it in an obscure section of a newspaper, making it difficult to find.
Furthermore, Emefiele stated that his ability to notice the publication was hampered by his simultaneous management of three criminal cases in both Abuja and Lagos.
He accuses the EFCC of intentionally hiding the forfeiture case from him, even while they were engaging with him on other charges.
He is now urging the Appeal Court to reverse the lower court’s decision.
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 with the ruling, 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 December 2, 2024 respectively.
He also wants his earlier application of January 28, to be granted.
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.
He said: “The entire ruling is a miscarriage of justice. 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 lawyers stated.
Persecondnews recalls that the Federal Government had recently announced its intentions to auction the estate to low- and middle-income Nigerians.
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