Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has formally asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to set aside the judgment that granted the government permanent ownership of a sprawling 753-unit housing estate in the Lokogoma district of the capital.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had previously secured an order to forfeit the estate, originally believed to be tied to another former government official. But Emefiele, through his lawyer A.M. Kotoye, argues that he was entitled to participate in the proceedings because he has a legitimate stake in the property and is seeking to have the Appeal Court upend the ruling of the lower court.
“I was unaware of the forfeiture,” Emefiele insisted, adding that the EFCC published the notice of interim forfeiture in a little-known section of a newspaper, making it extremely hard for him to find.
He further contended that while the forfeiture process was underway, he was simultaneously defending three criminal charges in Abuja and Lagos, which kept him from discovering the publication in time.
Emefiele also alleged that the EFCC deliberately failed to inform him about the forfeiture case even though they were actively pursuing other criminal matters against him.
The trial court, however, rejected these claims, concluding that the EFCC had indeed complied with the law and that the notice was “not reasonably described as hidden.”
Unsatisfied, Emefiele filed his appeal on April 30, 2025, calling on the appellate judges to overturn the April 28, 2025 judgment and to quash the interim and final forfeiture orders issued on November 1 and December 2, 2024, respectively. He also wants the court to approve his earlier motion filed on January 28, 2025.
In his appeal, Emefiele argued that the trial court misinterpreted the issues raised in his application and improperly dismissed it without giving due attention to vital evidence. He argued that the orders were based on “hearsay, suspicion, and no proper evidence.”
Emefiele insisted he had valid legal and equitable rights to the estate, contrary to the lower court’s ruling that he did not supply convincing proof of ownership.
“The entire ruling is a miscarriage of justice,” Emefiele declared. He went on to state, “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.”
In a related move, Emefiele’s legal team has reached out to the Minister of Housing, imploring the ministry to suspend all plans to sell off the estate until the outcome of the appeal is known.
“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 emphasized.
Meanwhile, the federal government has recently indicated plans to auction the estate to low- and middle-income Nigerians as part of broader housing initiatives.
