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ABUJA, Nigeria - Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has filed a petition with the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to overturn a ruling that awarded the government complete control over a significant estate in Abuja with 753 housing units.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had previously secured a court order to confiscate the estate located in the Lokogoma area of Abuja.
Initially, the estate was associated with another unnamed former government official.
However, Emefiele, represented by lawyer A.M. Kotoye, argues that he should have been included in the proceedings due to his interest in the property.
He is requesting that the Appeal Court reverses the lower court's decision. “I was not aware of the forfeiture,” Emefiele claims.
He informed the court that the EFCC had published the interim forfeiture notice in an obscure section of a newspaper, making it hard to notice.
Moreover, he explained that he was dealing with three criminal cases concurrently in Abuja and Lagos, which prevented him from seeing the publication.
He further accused the EFCC of intentionally hiding the forfeiture case from him, despite their ongoing conversations about other charges. The trial court, however, rejected his claim, stating that the EFCC adhered to due process and that the newspaper notice was adequate.
The judge ruled that the notice “could not reasonably be described as hidden.”
Emefiele, dissatisfied with the decision, filed an appeal on April 30, 2025, asking the Court of Appeal to: reverse the judgment made on April 28, 2025; annul the interim and final forfeiture orders from November 1 and December 2, 2024; and approve his application submitted on January 28, 2025.
He contended that the trial court misinterpreted his application and incorrectly dismissed it without sufficient consideration of vital facts, arguing that the orders were based on “hearsay, suspicion, and lack of proper evidence.”
Emefiele also asserted that he has both legal and equitable interests in the estate, despite the court’s claim that he failed to demonstrate ownership.
“The entire ruling is a miscarriage of justice,” Emefiele stated, adding that “the trial judge's failure to properly assess the affidavit and documents presented is erroneous and has resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
The orders were made in violation of the 1999 Constitution and are thus null and void.”
Meanwhile, Emefiele’s legal team has contacted the Minister of Housing, requesting that the government suspend any plans to sell the estate until the appeal is finalized. “We know 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 indicated.
The federal government had recently expressed intentions to auction the estate to low- and middle-income Nigerians.
