Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Wednesday, June 5, ordered the temporary forfeiture of properties worth N11.14 billion linked to Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The judge issued this order following an ex parte motion filed and presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo, who was assisted by Bilkisu Buhari-Bala and Chineye Okezie.

The court ordered that the properties be temporarily handed over to the Federal Government.

During the session, Oyedepo informed the court that Emefiele allegedly acquired the luxury properties indirectly using money obtained through fraud. Most of these properties are located in upscale areas of Abuja.

The EFCC also accused three CBN employees, Obayemi Oluwaseun Teben, Akomolafe Adebayo, and Olubunmi Makinde, of assisting Emefiele. They allegedly used their positions to secure favorable foreign exchange allocations for various companies in return for bribes.

Justice Aneke instructed the EFCC to publish the forfeiture order in a newspaper to allow any interested parties to contest the final forfeiture order.

The judge scheduled the hearing for the final forfeiture motion on June 21.