Court orders final forfeiture of $1.4m linked to Emefiele

Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of $1,426,175.14 (One Million, Four Hundred and Twenty-Six Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy-Five United States Dollars, Fourteen Cents) linked to a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

The order followed a motion filed by the respondent seeking to set aside the court’s final forfeiture order of 25 June 2024.

The court had given the final forfeiture order after a motion on notice filed and argued by Bilkisu Buhari, counsel for the EFCC, which went uncontested by any interested parties.

The motion was supported by an affidavit deposed by David Jayeoba, an investigating officer with the EFCC, who stated that investigations carried out showed that the fund was reasonably suspected to be the proceeds of unlawful activities “warehoused” in Donatone Limited’s (DL)’s Titan Trust Bank account.

He stated, “The investigation traced the funds to having been fixed into interest-yielding accounts, dissipated and laundered through a foreign account in Mauritius, and transported back to Nigeria under disguise.

“Of the total sum of $26,552,000.00 USD received by the firm, the balance standing in the said account as of today is the sum of $1,426,175.14 million USD.

“It is the balance in the account that the applicant seeks to forfeit to the Federal Government of Nigeria, which has been traced to be the proceeds of unlawful activities of erstwhile Central Bank Governor of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele and his cronies.

“Investigation further revealed that the international entities sourcing for forex were pressured into parting with huge funds to access forex during the period.

“The signatories to the account warehousing the sum of $1,426,175.14 USD sought to be forfeited are at large and are making frantic efforts to dissipate the funds electronically.”

Subsequently, the court granted the order. However, in a counter-affidavit by solicitors for Donatone Limited dated 25 November 2024, they argued that the depositions contained in paragraphs four to 18 of the affidavit deposed by Jayeoba were not correct.

Responding to the counter-affidavit, the EFCC, in an affidavit dated 29 November 2024, countered their claim with more evidence.

Subsequently, Justice Faji held that: “Anyone laying claims to the fund must show the lawfulness of the acquisition and not that the said fund is not proceeds of crime.

“Having listened to the submission of the applicant’s counsel and also perused the motion just moved, together with the affidavit in support, the motion is hereby granted.”

Consequently, Justice Faji granted the application for final forfeiture of the fund.

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