The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of a warehouse and 54 general-purpose steel containers linked to Emefiele to the Federal Government. The property, located on 1.925 hectares of land along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Magboro, Ogun State, was forfeited following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Deinde Dipeolu issued the order on Thursday after no individual or organization came forward to claim ownership of the assets. The ruling follows an earlier interim forfeiture order granted on November 28, which directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to show cause why the property should not be permanently forfeited.

At the resumed hearing, EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) informed the court that the agency had complied with the directive to publicize the order. He further argued that the application for final forfeiture was in accordance with Section 44(2)(B) of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended), Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

Oyedepo requested the court to order the permanent forfeiture of the warehouse and steel containers, which are suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.

After reviewing the submissions and legal documents, Justice Dipeolu granted the EFCC’s application and ordered the final forfeiture of the listed assets to the Federal Government.

This ruling underscores the government’s ongoing efforts to combat financial crimes and recover assets linked to illicit activities.