Nigeria's Supreme Court Upholds $2.0 M Asset Forfeiture from Ex-Central Bank Governor

The Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered a unanimous judgment on 17 July 2026 restoring a Federal High Court order that permanently forfeits seven landed properties, $2.045 million and share certificates linked to former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele to the federal government. The ruling overturned a Lagos Court of Appeal decision that had earlier set aside the forfeiture, confirming that the assets were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

In parallel, Nigeria’s Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the final forfeiture of 48 properties valued at about ₦212.8 billion that were tied to former Attorney‑General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami. The assets, which include Rayhaan University, a radio station, luxury hotels and extensive land parcels across Abuja, Kebbi, Kano and Kaduna states, were judged to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also secured a court order forfeiting jewellery, exotic vehicles and cash worth roughly ₦8.97 billion from businesswoman Aisha Achimugu, and a separate judgment mandated the final forfeiture of ₦941.9 million recovered from the IPPIS payroll fraud investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). Together, these decisions represent a significant wave of non‑conviction‑based asset recovery actions by Nigeria’s anti‑corruption agencies.