A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of 52 terrace and maisonette houses located in the Lekki area of Lagos to the Federal Government.
Justice Alexandra Owoeye delivered the judgment on Wednesday, granting the application filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The forfeited properties are situated at Mercyville Estate, Covenant Way, off New Road, Ilasan, Lekki, and were recovered from Fielddreams Limited, Ifeanyi Nweke and Amex Savings and Loans Limited.
The EFCC, through its counsel, Franklin Ofoma, had earlier secured an interim forfeiture order on August 14, 2024, from Justice Akintayo Aluko following an ex parte application.
As part of the interim order, the court directed the anti-graft agency to publish the forfeiture notice in a national newspaper, inviting any interested parties to show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Following the publication, the respondents filed an affidavit opposing the final forfeiture.
In their initial affidavit, the respondents claimed that the funds used to develop the 52 housing units were generated from the sale of 29 terrace and maisonette houses valued at ₦1.9 billion.
However, they later altered their position, alleging that some of the applicants had failed to complete the construction of the properties. The court noted that the new claims contradicted their earlier deposition, which stated that construction had been completed in 2020 and that proceeds from the property sales were used for furnishing and interior decoration.
Arguing the application for final forfeiture, EFCC counsel Franklin Ofoma informed the court that the Commission had complied with the publication order and supported its application with a 31-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Afolabi Seyi Oladele, a litigation officer in the EFCC’s Legal Department.
He maintained that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and urged the court to grant the final forfeiture.
Ofoma also told the court that the second respondent, Ifeanyi Nweke, is a fugitive facing separate criminal charges and had failed to appear before two courts for arraignment.
According to him, there are two subsisting warrants of arrest against Nweke, who allegedly jumped the administrative bail earlier granted to him by the EFCC.
In her ruling, Justice Owoeye held that the respondents’ affidavit contained material contradictions, making it unreliable.
“Since this court cannot pick and choose which of the evidence given by the respondents to believe, it must consequently reject the entire affidavit evidence placed before it,” the judge ruled.
The court subsequently rejected the respondents’ affidavit challenging the forfeiture application and granted the EFCC’s request for the final forfeiture of the 52 properties to the Federal Government.
