A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of 52 terrace and maisonette housing units located in the Lekki area of the state to the Federal Government, ruling that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
Justice Alexandra Owoeye delivered the judgment on Wednesday after granting an application filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The affected properties, situated at Mercyville Estate, Covenant Way, off New Road, Ilasan, Lekki, were recovered from Fielddreams Limited, Ifeanyi Nweke and Amex Savings and Loans Limited.
The EFCC’s counsel, Franklin Ofoma, urged the court to grant the application, arguing that the Commission had complied with all legal requirements, including the publication of an earlier interim forfeiture order inviting interested parties to show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited.
According to the Commission, investigations established reasonable grounds to suspect that the properties were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
The case stemmed from an interim forfeiture order granted on August 14, 2024, by Justice Akintayo Aluko, who directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to challenge the proposed forfeiture.
Following the publication, the respondents filed an affidavit opposing the final forfeiture. However, during the proceedings, the EFCC argued that the respondents’ evidence was contradictory.
The Commission told the court that while the respondents initially claimed the development of the 52 housing units was financed from proceeds realised from the sale of 29 completed houses worth ₦1.9 billion, they later alleged that several of the applicants had failed to complete the buildings—an assertion the EFCC said conflicted with their earlier sworn testimony that construction had been completed in 2020.
The anti-graft agency also informed the court that the second respondent, Ifeanyi Nweke, was a fugitive facing criminal charges and had failed to honour court proceedings despite existing warrants for his arrest.
Ofoma further submitted that Nweke had jumped the administrative bail earlier granted to him by the Commission and failed to appear for his arraignment in two pending criminal cases.
In her ruling, Justice Owoeye held that the inconsistencies in the respondents’ affidavit rendered their evidence unreliable.
“Premised on the foregoing position of the law, I hold that since this court cannot pick and choose which of the evidence given by Respondents to believe, it must consequently reject the entire affidavit evidence placed before it by the 1st-3rd Respondents.
“Accordingly, I reject the 1st-3rd Respondents’ Affidavit to Show Cause/Counter-Affidavit to the Applicant/Respondent’s Motion on Notice for Final Forfeiture filed on the 9th of February, 2026, but deemed properly filed on the 28th of April, 2026.
“The consequence is that there is no opposition to the Motion filed by the 1st and 2nd Applicants for the grant of an order of final forfeiture,” the judge ruled.
Justice Owoeye further held that the EFCC had established sufficient grounds to justify the forfeiture.
“Premised on the foregoing, I find that having demonstrated grounds for reasonable suspicion that the properties in question are the proceeds of unlawful activities, the applicants are entitled to the reliefs sought in this application. I therefore resolve the sole issue in this application in favour of the Applicants.”
Granting the application, the court concluded:
“Having resolved the sole issue in this application in favour of the applicants, I hold that this application has merit and ought to be granted. Accordingly, I grant the relief sought in this application as prayed.”
The judgment marks another significant milestone in the EFCC’s asset recovery drive, which targets properties and other assets suspected to have been acquired through proceeds of crime, subject to judicial determination under Nigeria’s anti-corruption laws.
