Emefiele, cronies acquired 753-duplex estate with forex kickbacks — EFCC

By Solomon Odeniyi

Court papers filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have linked the immediate-past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to the massive Abuja property with 753 duplexes and other apartments located in the Cadastral Zone area of the capital city.

The anti-graft agency on Monday announced the recovery of the property from an unnamed ex-government top brass, describing the property as the biggest single recovery it had made in the course of fighting corruption since its establishment in 2003.

The recovery followed a ruling delivered on December 2, 2024, by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court in Apo.

In the court documents obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, the EFCC ran a narration linking Emefiele to the massive property spanning 150,500 square metre and identified as Plot 109, Cadazral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja.

Emefiele is currently being prosecuted by the EFCC in three separate cases before different judges.

Before Justice Hamza Mu’azu, he is being tried for procurement fraud, forgery of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s signature, and other charges.

Before Justice Rahman Oshodi at the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, Emefiele is charged with alleged fraud involving $4.5bn and N2.8bn.

Additionally, Emefiele is before Justice Maryann Anenih of the FCT High Court in Abuja for allegedly approving the printing of N684.5m notes at the cost of N18.96bn.

According to the document, Emefiele allegedly carried out “monumental fraud” as the CBN governor with his cronies to acquire several properties including the estate.

“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.”

The EFCC alleged that “in the cause of this investigation, it was revealed that the erstwhile CBN governor negotiated kickbacks in return for allocation of foreign exchange to some companies who were in desperate need of foreign exchange for their lawful and legitimate businesses.

“Our investigation equally revealed that erstwhile CBN Governor received kickbacks from some contractors who were awarded contracts by the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The anti-graft agency also alleged that Emefiele connived with several cronies, including one  Ifeanyi Omeke, who “ran several errands for him, which included purchase and perfection of title documents for several properties located in highbrow areas of Lagos and Abuja.”

It said the documents for the Abuja property were recovered during a search of Omeke’s office and that investigators located the property on  September 17, 2024 “with the assistance of a surveyor from the Abuja Geographical Information Systems, using search results and coordinate.”

The EFCC said its investigation “revealed that the said property has been abandoned and deserted with only a guard manning the said property since June 2023 upon the arrest of the erstwhile CBN Governor. “

The PUNCH reported that the Department of State Services arrested Emefiele in Lagos the following day he was suspended by President Bola Tinubu.

In October, the EFCC arrested Emefiele in less than an hour he regained his freedom from the DSS.