Emefiele: Court orders forfeiture of $1.4m

The Federal High Court in Lagos, in a Tuesday ruling, ordered the permanent forfeiture of $1,426,175.14, which is linked to Godwin Emefiele, the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor.

Justice Ayokunle Faji issued a court order mandating the permanent transfer of the funds to the Federal Government.

The court’s decision to issue a final forfeiture order was made in response to an application submitted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday.

The anti-graft agency had earlier on May 29, 2014, secured an interim order temporarily forfeiting the money.

The judge ordered the publication of the court order in the newspapers to give anyone interested in the funds to appear in court and show cause why it should not be permanently forfeited.

At the Tuesday hearing, counsel for the EFCC, Mrs Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, said the commission had complied with the publication order and no one had come forward to claim the money.

According to her, the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities by Emefiele.

Buhari-Bala said investigation by the EFCC revealed that the ex-CBN governor received the dollars as kick-backs for approving forex allocation to multinational firms during the forex crisis in the country.

The EFCC lawyer said the court was empowered by Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-related Offences Act to make the forfeiture order.

The court’s order on Tuesday to forfeit the $1.4 million follows closely on the heels of a previous ruling by the same court, which granted a permanent forfeiture of properties valued at N12.18 billion, also linked to Emefiele, just days earlier.

Justice C.J. Aneke presided over the case and granted the forfeiture order.

In an affidavit submitted in support of the forfeiture application presented on Tuesday, David Jayeoba, an investigator with EFCC, revealed that the agency traced the funds through reliable and direct intelligence sources.

“Part of the said funds, which represent the proceeds of Godwin Emefiele and his cronies’ unlawful activities, are retained in the accounts now sought to be forfeited.

“Uzeobo Anthony and Adebanjo Olurotimi were procured by Godwin Emefiele and used to conceal, retain and disguise funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

“Between 2021 and 2022, when accessibility to forex in Nigeria was difficult, several international entities operating in Nigeria had to resort to different means to source forex.

“Both Uzeobo Anthony and Adebanjo Olurotimi used to collect bribes and gratification on behalf of Godwin Emefiele to get approval for accessing forex.

“One of the entities paid a total sum of $26,552,000.00 into the account domiciled in Titan Trust account number 2000000500.

“The said credits came into the account on the 9th of November 2021: $6,450,000; 15th of November 2021: $6,050,000.00; 16th of December 2021: $5,400,000.00; 23rd of December 2021: $652,000, 31th January 2022: $3,000,000.00 and on the 21st September 2022: $5,000,000.00.

“The investigation traced the funds to having been fixed into interest-yielding accounts, dissipated and laundered through a foreign account in Mauritius, and transported back to Nigeria under disguise.

“Of the total sum of $26, 555, 000.00 received by Donatus Limited, the balance standing in the said account as of today is $1,426, 175. 14.

“It is the balance in the account that the applicant seeks to forfeit to the Federal Government of Nigeria, which has been traced to be the proceeds of unlawful activities of Godwin Emefiele and his cronies.

“That investigation further revealed that the international entities sourcing for forex were pressured into parting with huge funds to access forex during the period. And that the signatories to the account warehousing the sum of $1,426, 175.14) sought to be forfeited are at large and are making frantic efforts to dissipate the funds electronically.”