The Supreme Court has ordered the final forfeiture of
several properties linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor,
Godwin Emefiele, bringing an end to the legal dispute over the assets.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member
panel led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the apex court allowed an appeal
challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which had
earlier set aside the forfeiture order and directed that the case be retried.
By overturning the appellate court's ruling, the
Supreme Court restored the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which
had ordered the final forfeiture of the properties.
The ruling effectively ends Emefiele's legal challenge
against the forfeiture order.
The assets affected by the judgment include two fully
detached duplexes located at 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos;
an undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres on Oyinkan
Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; a bungalow at 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi; a
four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi; an industrial complex under
construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight apartment units
on Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi; and a duplex situated on a 2,217.87-square-metre
plot at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi.
The Supreme Court's decision marks the conclusion of
the legal proceedings over the ownership of the properties, affirming that the
assets are to remain permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
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