319
By Lizzy Chirkpi
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of nearly ₦179 million in cash, alongside several landed properties and vehicles traced to suspected unlawful activities.
Justice C. J. Aneke delivered the ruling on Monday, February 10, 2026, after discovering that the assets were proceeds of crime linked to one Stanley Chinemerem.
The judge held that the sum of ₦178,966,938, together with the confiscated houses and vehicles, were reasonably suspected to have been acquired through illegal means and should be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The order followed an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which had earlier secured an interim forfeiture while investigations were ongoing.
In its submissions, the EFCC told the court that intelligence reports and financial analysis showed that Chinemerem could not lawfully explain the source of the funds and properties.
An official of the anti-graft agency said the recovered assets were linked to suspicious financial transactions believed to involve fraud and other criminal activities.
“The Commission was able to establish that the money and properties were not products of any known legitimate business. They were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime, which the respondent failed to challenge with credible evidence,” the official said.
Justice Aneke ruled that the EFCC had sufficiently proven its case and noted that no valid opposition was filed to counter the agency’s claims, thereby granting the final forfeiture.
The court consequently ordered that the funds be paid into the Federal Government’s recovery account, while the properties and vehicles be taken over by the appropriate authorities in line with the law.
The EFCC described the judgment as a significant boost to the fight against corruption, stressing that recovered assets are returned to government coffers to support national development and deter financial crimes.