Seized 753 Duplexs: EFCC court documents incriminate Emefiele
Story by Victor Itodo ABUH
Court filings by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have implicated Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in connection with a sprawling Abuja estate comprising 753 duplexes and other apartments. The property is situated in the Cadastral Zone of the nation’s capital.
On Monday, the EFCC announced the recovery of the estate from an unnamed former senior government official, calling it the agency’s largest single recovery since its inception in 2003.
The recovery was based on a ruling delivered on December 2, 2024, by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court in Apo.
Documents obtained on Tuesday reveal that the EFCC traced the massive property, spanning 150,500 square meters and identified as Plot 109 in Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, to Emefiele.
Emefiele is currently facing prosecution in three separate cases before different courts.
Before Justice Hamza Mu’azu: He faces charges of procurement fraud, forgery of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s signature, and related offenses.
Before Justice Rahman Oshodi: At the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, he is charged with alleged fraud involving $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion.
Before Justice Maryann Anenih:. At the FCT High Court in Abuja, he is accused of approving the printing of ₦684.5 million worth of notes at an inflated cost of ₦18.96 billion.
The EFCC alleged in court documents that Emefiele used proceeds of unlawful activities to acquire several properties, including the estate in question.
“The commission, whilst investigating the alleged monumental fraud carried out by the immediate past Governor of the CBN and his cronies, traced and discovered several properties reasonably suspected to have been acquired and/or developed with proceeds of unlawful activities.
“The property highlighted in Schedule A to this application is one of the said properties recovered, having been reasonably suspected to have been acquired/ developed with proceeds of unlawful activities.”
Read also: EFCC secures largest asset recovery as ex-official forfeits 753 Abuja duplexes
Further allegations detail how Emefiele allegedly demanded kickbacks in exchange for foreign exchange allocations to companies in need of forex for legitimate business operations.
“Our investigation equally revealed that the erstwhile CBN Governor received kickbacks from some contractors who were awarded contracts by the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the EFCC stated.
The anti-graft agency also accused Emefiele of working closely with associates, including one Ifeanyi Omeke, who reportedly facilitated the purchase and legal documentation for properties in Lagos and Abuja. Documents for the estate in Abuja were allegedly found during a search of Omeke’s office.
Investigators located the property on September 17, 2024, with assistance from the Abuja Geographical Information Systems. The property has reportedly been abandoned since June 2023, with only a guard present after Emefiele’s arrest.
Emefiele was first detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) in Lagos shortly after his suspension by President Bola Tinubu. In October 2024, he was rearrested by the EFCC less than an hour after being released by the DSS.
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