The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has come under serious criticisms from not a few Nigerians over its failure to disclosed the owner of 753 duplexes and apartments it seized in Lokogoma, Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The property is a vast estate covering 150,462.86 square metres, according to the EFCC documents.
The anti-graft agency had on Monday disclosed that it had secured the final forfeiture of the vast estate, describing it as the largest single-asset seizure since the commission’s inception in 2003.
According to reports, the seizure is among some properties recently seized from a former Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele and forfeited to the federal government through a court order.
Emefiele, the magazine reports, is being prosecuted by the EFCC for alleged graft while he was governor of Nigeria’s apex a bank.
Following his sack by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last year, and his eventual arrest and prosecution by the EFCC, many properties have been linked to him, among which some have now been forfeited to the federal government.
Following the EFCC announcement two days ago, not a few Nigerians said they are unhappy with the manner the commission has handled the issue, wondering why the identities of the owner have been concealed.
“The EFCC should go beyond sensationalism of corruption in Nigeria, to basically doing their job, which is to investigate and tell Nigerians the truth. What’s the essence of seizing a multi-billion naira property when you can’t tell Nigerians the owner? An analyst Dapo Sanni said.
Other sources wonder whether the EFCC decided to shield the owner from the public knowledge because he/she is a high profile Nigerian, and that the commission does not want to ruffle feathers in high places. The issue would have been handled diffidently if the matter concerns ordinary Nigerians, they insist.
“See the manner the EFCC has been parading ‘Yahoo Boys’ and the way they have been shamed in public. Does it mean that different laws are made for different people. What happens to the principle of Equality Before the Law? Are all of us really equal in the eyes of the law the way we have made to believe/ I don’t think so,” another source who spoke in anonymity said on Wednesday.
The source said the EFCC has broken the charter it has with Nigerians, by concealing the identity of the owner of the multi-billion naira property, particularly after documentary evidence indicates that they may belong to Emefiele.
For instance, a court affidavit filed by the EFCC revealed details implicating Emefiele and his associates in the ownership of the estate.
The affidavit, sworn by Idi Musa, an investigating officer with the EFCC, was submitted in support of an application for the final forfeiture of the property, filed at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, on 21 November.
The affidavit disclosed that the EFCC while investigating alleged monumental fraud carried out by Emefiele and his cronies traced and discovered several properties suspected to have been acquired and or developed with proceeds of unlawful activities.
According to the EFCC, the estate in Lokogoma was abandoned and left under the care of a security guard since June 2023, following Emefiele’s arrest. The land, identified as Plot 109 at Cadastral Zone C09, was initially allocated to Windermere Nigeria Limited in September 2010 for mass housing development.
The affidavit further alleged that the former CBN Governor collected kickbacks in return for foreign exchange to some companies and contractors who were in desperate need of foreign exchange for their lawful and legitimate businesses.
According to the document, one Ifeanyi Omeke, a deputy general manager and head of litigation of Zenith Bank, worked closely with Godwin Emefiele and ran several errands for him which included purchase and perfection of title documents for several properties located in highbrow areas of Lagos and Abuja, including the property forfeited in Lokogoma.
“That upon a search conducted in the office premises of Mr. Ifeanyi
Collins Omeke by the operatives of the Commission, several property title documents were recovered which investigation revealed were purchased
investigation revealed were purchased with sums traced and reasonably believed to be proceeds of unlawful, activities to wit; kickback from allocation of Foreign exchange and award of contract.
“That during the cause of the search at the office premises of Mr. Ifeanyi Collins Omeke by the operatives of the Commission the Commission also recovered title documents of a landed property measuring 150,462.86 metre square lying and situate in Abuja as highlighted in schedule A to this application. The title and other relevant documents in relation to this property recovered from leanyi Omeke are attached and marked Exhibit EFCC01” the affidavit read.
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