Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has filed an appeal against a judgment that granted the federal government ownership of a large estate comprising 753 housing units in Abuja. The estate, located in the Lokogoma district, was forfeited to the government following a ruling obtained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which claimed it was linked to proceeds of unlawful activity.
Emefiele, through his lawyer A.M. Kotoye, told the Court of Appeal in Abuja that he was unfairly excluded from the original forfeiture proceedings despite having legal and equitable interests in the property. He is asking the appellate court to reverse the April 28, 2025 judgment of the Federal High Court and to nullify both the interim and final forfeiture orders granted on November 1 and December 2, 2024, respectively.
In his appeal, Emefiele said: “I was unaware of the forfeiture.” He told the court that the EFCC published the interim forfeiture notice in an “obscure section of a newspaper,” which made it difficult for him to detect. He added that, at the time, he was entangled in three separate criminal cases being prosecuted in both Abuja and Lagos, which limited his ability to monitor such notices.
Emefiele went further to accuse the EFCC of acting in bad faith, claiming that the agency intentionally concealed the forfeiture case from him while still actively engaging him on other legal matters. Despite these assertions, the trial court held that the EFCC had fulfilled the requirement for public notice. The presiding judge ruled that the newspaper publication “could not reasonably be described as hidden.”
Emefiele is challenging that conclusion and insists that his application was not properly considered. He maintains that the trial judge dismissed it without adequately evaluating the materials he submitted. In his words:
“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.”
He also argued that the orders were issued based on “hearsay, suspicion, and no proper evidence,” insisting that the court relied on unsubstantiated claims to justify the forfeiture.
Meanwhile, Emefiele’s legal team has written to the Minister of Housing, urging the federal government to halt any plans to auction 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.
