Court orders final forfeiture of warehouse, containers linked to ex-CBN Governor Emefiele

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Court orders final forfeiture of warehouse, containers linked to ex-CBN Governor Emefiele

The Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Deinde Dipeolu, has ordered the final forfeiture of a warehouse built on a 1.925-hectare property along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Magboro, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Justice Dipeolu also ordered the permanent forfeiture of 54 general-purpose steel containers.

The court issued the order for the final forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, filed an application for the forfeiture, as no individual or organisation came forward to claim the assets.

On November 28, the judge had previously ordered the interim forfeiture of the assets and instructed EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested parties to appear in court and show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.

At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court that the commission had complied with the court’s directives.

Oyedepo explained that the application for final forfeiture was made under 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, under the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

He urged the court to order the final forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government of Nigeria. These assets included a warehouse built on a 1.925-hectare property at Km 8 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Magboro and 54 general-purpose steel containers, which were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

After reviewing the submissions of the EFCC’s lawyer and the processes filed before the court, Justice Dipeolu granted the relief sought and ordered the final forfeiture of all the listed assets.