THE Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of a warehouse located on a 1.925-hectare property along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway in Magboro, within the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Additionally, the court has mandated the permanent forfeiture of 54 general-purpose steel containers.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu issued this order after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed an application for forfeiture, as no individual or organization came forward to claim the assets. On November 28, EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) submitted a motion ex parte seeking the forfeiture.
In documents presented to the court, the EFCC indicated that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of illegal activities connected to former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Justice Dipeolu initially ordered an interim forfeiture and instructed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested parties to contest the forfeiture.
During the resumed hearing today, Oyedepo informed the court that the EFCC had followed the court’s instructions, and no claims had been made on the assets.
He argued that the request for final forfeiture was based on Section 44(2)(B) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, as well as the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
Oyedepo requested that the court issue a final forfeiture order to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the properties listed in Schedule A, which includes the warehouse and the steel containers, both suspected to have been acquired through unlawful means.
After considering the arguments and reviewing the submitted documents, Justice Dipeolu granted the application, issuing a final forfeiture order for all the assets.
He said, “The application succeeds and is hereby granted. A final forfeiture order is granted to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the properties listed in Schedule A, which are reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
