Embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN , CBN Godwin Emefiele has filed a suit at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, trying to overturn the recent forfeiture of 753 housing units situated in the Lokogoma district of Abuja to the federal government.
According to a petition filed through his legal counsel , A.M Kotoye the former Nigeria’s apex bank governor accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of trying to shave his head behind him, saying he did not know that the houses have been forfeited to the authority.
On April 28, 2025 Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court ordered the final forfeiture of the estate located at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone CO9, Lokogoma District measuring 150,462.84 square metres, based on an application filed by the EFCC. The judge had dismissed the cross-application filed by Emefiele over the issue.
Last week, the EFCC handed over the property to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, who said the estate will be auctioned to Nigerians.
While inaugurating the committee on Monday, Dangiwa, said the federal government is poised to ensure that the seized buildings are transformed to affordable and living homes for Nigerians. “The committee was constituted based on the vision of Mr President and the Ministry’s housing reform drive to ensure that the recovered property is swiftly transformed into liveable, secure, and affordable homes for the benefit of Nigerians,” Dangiwa said.
But reacting Emefiele said he was not well informed of the court proceedings that led to the forfeiture of the properties, saying he was busy with other legal cases preferred against him by the EFCC, noting that he was “unaware of the forfeiture” order.
According to the former CBN Governor, the forfeiture order was not well published in the newspapers as required by the law, making it difficult for him to notice.
He described the forfeiture as a miscarriage of ‘justice’ that should not be allowed to stand, saying the court order was against the Constitution.
According to his counsel the court process at the Court of Appeal has already been served to the government, which he said is already in the process of auctioning the estate. The auction plan must be put on hold, he said, pending the determination of the matter at the appelate court.
Emefiele: “The entire ruling is a miscarriage of justice.
“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.
“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 magazine reported that the estate is part of the multi-million property the embattled former Nigerian CBN Governor had forfeited to the federal government which include N830 million, $4.7 million among other slew of properties linked to him.
Emefiele is still being prosecuted in court by the EFCC for alleged graft and terrorism financing charges.
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