Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has petitioned the Court of Appeal in Abuja to overturn a judgment granting the government full control of a substantial estate in Abuja comprising 753 housing units.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had earlier obtained a court order to seize the estate, situated in the Lokogoma district of Abuja.
Initially, the estate was linked to another unnamed former government official. However, Emefiele, through his legal representative A.M. Kotoye, contends that he ought to have been involved in the proceedings, as he holds an interest in the property. He is now seeking the Appeal Court’s reversal of the lower court’s ruling.
“I was unaware of the forfeiture,” Emefiele asserts
He informed the court that the EFCC published the interim forfeiture notice in an obscure section of a newspaper, making it difficult to detect.
Additionally, Emefiele explained that he was simultaneously managing three criminal cases in both Abuja and Lagos, which hindered his ability to notice the publication.
He further accused the EFCC of deliberately concealing the forfeiture case from him, despite their ongoing engagement with him on other charges.
The trial court, however, dismissed his claim, ruling that the EFCC had followed due process and that the newspaper notice was sufficient.
The judge declared that the notice “could not reasonably be described as hidden.”
