The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of a warehouse built on a landed property measuring 1.925 hectares of land along the Lagos/Ibadan expressway in Magboro, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The court also ordered the permanent forfeiture of 54 general purpose steel containers.
Justice Deinde Dipeolu made the order for the final forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria, after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) moved an application for the forfeiture of the assets since no person or organisation came forward to claim them.
On November 28, the counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), had approached the court via a motion ex parte to seek the forfeiture of the assets.
In documents put before the court at the time, the commission had stated that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity and linked to the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
Justice Dipeolu then ordered the interim forfeiture of the assets while directing the EFCC to publish the order in the national newspaper, for any interested person to appear before the court and show cause why it should not be finally forfeited.
But at the resumed hearing on Thursday, Oyedepo told the court that the commission had complied with the court’s directives and no one had come forward to lay claims to the assets.
Oyedepo also submitted that the final forfeiture order was brought pursuant to Section 44(2)(B) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended); and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and under the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
After listening to the anti-graft agency’s lawyer and reading through all the processes filed before the court with the authorities cited, Justice Dipeolu, granted the relief sought and ordered the final forfeiture of all the assets.
Justice Dipeolu held: “The application succeeds and same is accordingly granted.
“A final forfeiture order is hereby granted forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria, properties contained in Schedule A herein which are reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
