Court Orders Former CBN Governor Emefiele to Forfeit $1.4M in Bribery Proceeds

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of $1,426,175.14 connected to Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Justice Ayokunle Faji issued the final forfeiture order on Tuesday, following a successful application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-graft agency had previously secured an interim forfeiture order for the sum on May 29, 2014.

The EFCC’s counsel, Mrs. Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, confirmed compliance with a prior court directive to publicize the interim order, inviting any interested parties to contest the forfeiture. However, no claims were made.

The funds in question were identified as proceeds from unlawful activities, specifically bribes Emefiele allegedly received in exchange for approving forex allocations to multinational companies during Nigeria’s forex crisis. The court cited Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-related Offences Act to justify the forfeiture.

This recent ruling comes shortly after the same court mandated the forfeiture of properties valued at N12.18 billion linked to Emefiele, ordered by Justice C.J. Aneke.

An affidavit by EFCC investigator David Jayeoba detailed the investigation, which traced the funds to unlawful forex dealings facilitated by Emefiele’s associates, Uzeobo Anthony and Adebanjo Olurotimi. These associates allegedly collected bribes on Emefiele’s behalf from international entities desperate for forex during 2021-2022, depositing $26,552,000 into a Titan Trust account.

The EFCC’s investigation uncovered that the funds were laundered through foreign accounts and eventually traced back to Nigeria. The remaining $1,426,175.14 in the account has now been forfeited to the Federal Government as illicit proceeds.