The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed fresh charges against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, accusing him of unlawful acquisition and possession of properties and funds suspected to be proceeds of crime.
In an eight-count charge filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele unlawfully acquired 753 housing units located at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja. The Commission claims the properties were fraudulently acquired in August 2021 through a conspiracy with Mr. Eric Ocheme, who is currently at large.
According to the EFCC, Emefiele held substantial funds across multiple proxy accounts during his tenure as CBN Governor. The anti-graft agency alleged that between January and December 2019, he maintained a proxy account with Zenith Bank containing N167 million, funds suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.
The charges further allege that:
- Between January and December 2020, Emefiele and Ocheme controlled N1.23 billion in the account of Kelvito Integrated Services (Account No: 1016232915 with Zenith Bank), believed to be proceeds of crime.
- In 2021, the duo allegedly had control of another N2.94 billion in the same account.
- By 2022, the EFCC claimed they continued to hold N1.98 billion in the same Kelvito account, all of which the Commission suspects were obtained through unlawful means.
The EFCC also accused Emefiele of keeping:
- N900 million in Ifedigo Integrated Services (Account No: 1210750237 with Zenith Bank), and
- An additional N600 million in the same Ifedigo account, with both sums also suspected to be illegally acquired.
One of the charges reads:
“That you, GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE and ERIC OCHEME (AT LARGE), between January and December 2021 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowingly had under your control the total sum of N2,945,331,050 domiciled in Kelvito Integrated Services’ account, which sum is reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.”
The Commission had earlier secured a court order granting the federal government possession of the 753-unit estate allegedly linked to Emefiele. The estate was formally seized and handed over to the government last week.
However, Emefiele has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking to overturn the lower court’s ruling that granted the federal government full control of the disputed estate.
The case adds to a series of legal troubles faced by the former apex bank governor, who is already under investigation for various allegations of abuse of office and financial misconduct during his time in office.
