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Court Orders Final Forfeiture of $2m, Seven Properties Linked to Emefiele

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Court Orders Final Forfeiture of $2m, Seven Properties Linked to Emefiele

Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Friday, November 1, 2024, ordered the final forfeiture of the sum of $2.045m, seven landed properties and the two share certificates of Queensdorf Global Fund Limited Trust linked to a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.

Justice Dipeolu gave the order, following a motion on notice filed and argued by a team of lawyers led by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The properties are: two fully detached duplexes of identical structures at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped land, measuring 1919.592sqm with Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow at No. 65A, Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos and a four-bedroom duplex at 12 A, Probyn Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Others are: an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; 8 units of an undetached apartment on a plot measuring 2457.60sqm at No. 8A, Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, and a full duplex together with all its appurtenances on a plot of land measuring 2217.87sqm at 2a Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Justice Akintayo Aluko, a vacation Judge, had, on August 15, 2024, ordered the interim forfeiture of the properties, following an ex parte application filed by the EFCC through its lawyer, C.C. Okezie.

Moving the application dated August 13, 2024 and filed August 14, 2024, Okezie had told the court that the properties, cash and shares were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities by Emefiele.

In his ruling, Justice Aluko had granted the application as prayed and also ordered the Commission to publish the interim order in any of these newspapers-The Punch, The Nation or The Guardian- and the EFCC website within 14days for any interested party to show cause why the final order of forfeiture should not be made in favour of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

However, Emefiele failed to contest the forfeiture within the court’s stipulated time frame.

During the sitting on October 11, 2024 ,the EFCC counsel had applied for the final forfeiture of the properties.

Moving the application for the final forfeiture of the properties on Friday, Oyedepo told the court that the Commission had complied with the order of the court regarding the publication.

The Judge, after listening to the submissions of the EFCC’ s counsel, ordered the final forfeiture of the properties.

According to the Judge, Emefiele was not able to connect his lawful earnings from both Zenith Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the acquisition of the properties.

The court also held that the former CBN Governor failed to provide documents or links to show that he owned the properties.

Justice Dipeolu held that “ the conclusion that can be deduced is that there must be something dark about the acquisition of the properties which Emefiele and the companies do not want to come to light”.

The judge further held “that the interested party has failed to demonstrate any lawful interest in the properties and that they were acquired from his legitimate earnings. I, therefore, order the final forfeiture to the Federal Government of Nigeria of all those properties…which are reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities”.

Visit www.efcc.gov.ng for more stories

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Man confesses to po!soning his mother, grandmother, sister and niece to d3ath for money ritual@l in Enugu

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Man confesses to po!soning his mother, grandmother, sister and niece to d3ath for money ritual@l in Enugu
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A young man identified as Anaegbuachara, has allegedly confessed to k!lling his mother, grandmother, sister and niece for money ritu@l purpose in Amaeze village, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The suspect, who made the confession on Monday, November 25, 2024, said he k!lled the victims with poison-laced food.

Ekwutosblog had reported that that the incident occurred on Sunday, September 1, 2024.

The victims had shared a meal the previous night before going to bed.

The woman identified as Mama Chijioke Amaeze, had brought her ailing mother to her home and had been caring for her before the incident.

Enugu media personality, who reported the earlier case, said the suspect confessed to committing the crime as instructed by a native doctor that lives in Agbani area of Nsukka but hails from Kogi State.

He claimed that his friend identified simply as ‘Morroco, connected him to the native doctor, who prepared the poison for him.

According to the suspect, the native doctor instructed him to sacrifice his mother in exchange for wealth.

However, his sister and her too children visited their mother and also ate the poisoned food.

“He was instructed to poison and kîll his mother only and that same day he was instructed to carry out the devlîsh act the grandma, sister and 2 sister’s child visited and they all ate the food he poisoned together that’s how they all d!ed,” Chijinkem Ugwuanyi wrote.

“The only surviving one among them is a kid of around 9yrs and he was taken to hospital but since then he is mentally unstable and indirectly running mâd at the moment.

“He confessed to the crime yesterday and asked for forgiveness.”

A video he posted shows the suspected being paraded around the community before he was taken to his mother’s tomb where he knelt to beg for her forgiveness.

It was gathered that the native doctor has been arrested.

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Ukraine braces for the worse

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Ukraine braces for the worse © Unsplash
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Ukraine is bracing for the worst ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.

The billionaire, who has promised to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia “within 24 hours,” has threatened to halt U.S. military support to Kyiv if Ukraine refuses to negotiate peace with its adversary.

“We’re getting ready for the worst-case scenario, when [Trump] stops all the supplies,” Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told Al Jazeera.

Trump’s peace plan remains vague for now, but some experts speculate it could involve allowing Russia to keep the Ukrainian territories it has occupied, which amount to 19% of Ukraine’s land.

If Kyiv refuses to engage in peace talks, Donald Trump has vowed to cut military aid. However, he has also suggested he might supply Ukraine with better weapons if Moscow rejects peace negotiations.

Despite these threats, Ukraine anticipates that Trump’s stance may shift depending on how the conflict evolves.

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Yahaya Bello Pleads Not Guilty on 16-Count Charge Before FCT High Court.

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Yahaya Bello Pleads Not Guilty on 16-Count Charge Before FCT High Court.
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Yahaya Bello Pleads Not Guilty on 16-Count Charge Before FCT High Court.

Former Governor of Kogi state Yahaya Bello has entered a plea of not guilty to a 16 count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial crimes commission when he was arraigned before the FCT High Court in Abuja.

Judiciary correspondent Austin Anyebe reports that the Alleged charges include misappropriation and misuse of public funds including acquiring multiple high value properties in Maitama and Asokoro districts of Abuja, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

The funds allegedly misused amount to billions of naira.

Bello and two others are accused of breaching public trust and engaged in dishonest and financial recklessness during his days in office.

EFCC operatives have been on the trail of the Former Governor since he left office in 2023 before he submitted himself to the Anti-graft agency on Monday.

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