In a significant legal development, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has once again ordered the interim forfeiture of $1.4 million linked to the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Presided over by Justice Ayokunle Faji, the court directed the forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The order, granted upon an ex parte application moved by the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Bilikisu Buhari-Bala, also mandates the EFCC to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper.
This publication serves as a notice to anyone interested in the funds to appear before the court within 14 days and show cause why the final order of forfeiture should not be made.
The $1.4 million subject to forfeiture is reportedly held in Donatone Limited’s account domiciled in Titan Bank Limited. The court has adjourned the matter to June 25 for the hearing of the final forfeiture of the funds.
This latest development follows a previous interim forfeiture order issued by Justice Yellim Bogoro of the same court on May 23.
In that instance, sums totaling $4,719,054, N830,875,611, and several properties linked to Emefiele were ordered to be temporarily forfeited.
During the proceedings, Buhari-Bala informed the court that the orders sought were pursuant to relevant provisions of the law, including Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act No. 14, 2006, and Section 44(2)(B) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
She emphasized that the funds in question were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The motion Ex parte was supported by an affidavit deposed to by EFCC investigator David Jayeoba. The affidavit detailed the EFCC’s investigation into the concealment of funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities in the account of Donatone Limited.
It implicated individuals associated with the company, including Uzeobo Anthony and Adebanjo Olurotimi, as key figures behind the fraudulent concealment of funds allegedly linked to Emefiele.
The deponent further explained, “Between 2021 and 2022, when accessibility to Forex in Nigeria was difficult, several international entities operating in Nigeria had to resort to different means to source Forex.
“That Uzeobo Anthony and Adebanjo Olurotimi used the firm, to collect bribes and gratification on behalf of Godwin Emefiele, to get approval for accessing Forex. And that one of the entities (NP) paid a total sum of $26,552 million USD, into the account of a firm domiciled in Titan Trust account number 2000000500.
“That the said credits came into the account of firm on November 9, 2021: $6,450,000; November 5, 2021: $6,050,000.00; December 16, 2021: $5,400,000.00; December 23, 2021: $652,000; January 31 2022; $3,000,000.00 and September 21, 2022: $5,000,000.00.
“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.
“That of the total sum of $26, 555, 000.00 US dollars received by firm, the balance standing in the said account as at today is the sum of $1, 426, 175.14 million USD.
“That 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 (GE) and his cronies. And that investigation further revealed that the international entities sourcing for forex were pressured into parting with huge funds to access forex during the period.
“That the signatories to the account warehousing the sum of $1, 426, 175.14 million USD, sought to be forfeited are at large and are making frantic efforts to dissipate the funds electronically. And that based on our investigation findings, the funds sought to be forfeited are proceeds of unlawful activities of (GE) and his cronies. And that it is in the interest of justice to grant this application.”
As the legal proceedings unfold, the case sheds light on the complexities of investigating financial crimes and underscores the commitment of law enforcement agencies to combat corruption and financial malfeasance in Nigeria.