Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has taken his battle over a sprawling Abuja estate to the Court of Appeal, asking it to reverse a judgment that handed the property to the federal government.
The estate, located in the Lokogoma district of Abuja and made up of 753 housing units, was seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following a court order.
Though initially linked to an unnamed former official, Emefiele now claims he has legal and personal interests in the estate and should have been included in the proceedings.
“I was unaware of the forfeiture,” Emefiele said in his filing, describing how he only found out about the court’s decision long after it had been made.
His lawyer, A.M. Kotoye, argued that the EFCC deliberately kept him in the dark, publishing the interim forfeiture notice in a barely visible part of a newspaper.
At the same time, Emefiele said he was juggling three criminal cases in both Abuja and Lagos, making it difficult to detect the publication or respond on time.
The lower court dismissed Emefiele’s claims, ruling that the EFCC had done its job by following due process. The judge described the newspaper notice as adequate, saying it “could not reasonably be described as hidden.”
READ ALSO: FG to Auction 753-Unit Housing Estate Seized from Emefiele
Unconvinced, Emefiele filed an appeal on April 30, asking the Court of Appeal to undo the April 28 judgment, cancel the earlier forfeiture orders granted in November and December 2024, and consider his application filed back in January.
He insists the court ignored key facts and failed to properly assess the evidence he provided.
“The entire ruling is a miscarriage of justice,” Emefiele said. “The failure of the trial judge to properly evaluate the affidavit and documents before him is perverse and has caused a miscarriage of justice. The orders were made in breach of the 1999 Constitution and are therefore null and void.”
Emefiele is also asking the appellate court to recognise what he calls both legal and equitable ownership of the estate, even though the trial court said he failed to prove this.
With the federal government now moving to sell the estate to Nigerians in the low- and middle-income brackets, Emefiele’s legal team has written to the Minister of Housing, urging an immediate halt to the auction.
“We are aware that the properties may soon be sold to the public. We have already served the EFCC with a notice of appeal and an injunction,” the letter reads.
As the legal battle deepens, the fate of the estate, and whether the government can go ahead with its planned sale, now rests with the Court of Appeal.