Justice Ayokunle Faji of a federal high court sitting in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of $1.4 million linked to fraud connected to the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.
The judge gave the ruling on Thursday, after proving the sum as yields from unlawful activities which must be forfeited to the federal government.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented the case through its counsel, Bilkisu Bahri-Bala, who informed the court of a $1,426,175.14 found in the account of Donatone Limited at Titan Trust Bank with the account number, 2000000500, investigations revealing the money linked to fraudulent activities.
Meanwhile, an EFCC investigator, David Jayeoba deposed an affidavit revealing that intelligence reports led to the exposure of funds hidden in Donatone Limited’s account.
According to him, the investigation unveiled a scheme involving Emefiele and his associates which includes directors of Donatone Limited, Uzeobo Anthony and Adebanjo Olurotimi who allegedly aided and covered the illegal funds.
The EFCC claimed that Emefiele and his associates accepted bribes from business seeking forex approvals during past financial struggles.
Recalled that many international companies struggled to access forex between 2021 and 2022, due to scarcity of foereign exchange that exist in such period.
An entity identified as (NP) was said to have paid $26,552,000 into Donatone Limited’s account at Titan Trust Bank.
Justice Faji had already issued an interim forfeiture order on May 30, 2024, before ruling on the permanent forfeiture of the funds
