Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the interim forfeiture of $1,426,175.14 million linked to a former governor of CBN Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Government. Justice Faji made the order after entertaining an Exparte motion marked FHC/L/CS/232/2024, brought before him by EFCC through one of its lawyers, Mrs Bilikisu Buhari-Bala. Buhari-Bala had told the judge that the money sought to be forfeited in the interim is in Donatone Limited’s account number, 2000000500, domiciled in a commercial bank.
The court, however, ordered the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper so that interested parties could appear before it within 14 days to show cause why the final order of forfeiture of the said sum should not be made in favour of the Federal Government.
Moving the motion, Mrs Buhari-Bala informed the court that the application was brought under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-related Offences Act No. 14, 2006, and Section 44 (2)(B) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
