Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of 52 Lekki Luxury Housing Units

• Court permanently forfeits 52 luxury homes: The Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of 52 terrace and maisonette units in Lekki after holding that the EFCC established reasonable grounds to suspect the properties were proceeds of unlawful activities.

• Respondents’ defence collapses in court: Justice Alexandra Owoeye rejected the respondents’ affidavit after finding material contradictions in their explanation of how the estate was financed and completed, leaving the forfeiture application effectively unchallenged.

• EFCC says key respondent is a fugitive: The Commission told the court that Ifeanyi Nweke jumped administrative bail, failed to appear for arraignment in two criminal cases and remains wanted under two subsisting warrants of arrest.

• Judgement concludes two-year legal battle: The ruling brings to an end forfeiture proceedings that began with an interim order in August 2024, permanently vesting the 52 luxury residential units in the Federal Government.

July 18, () — The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of 52 luxury terrace and maisonette units in the Lekki area of Lagos to the Federal Government.

reports that the properties are located at Mercyville Estate, Covenant Way, off New Road, Ilasan, Lekki.

A statement issued on Saturday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed that the forfeiture order was granted in a judgement delivered on Wednesday by Justice Alexandra Owoeye, following an application filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC against Fielddreams Limited, Ifeanyi Nweke and Amex Savings and Loans Limited.

The final forfeiture followed an interim forfeiture order granted on August 14, 2024, by Justice Akintayo Aluko after an ex parte application brought by the EFCC through its counsel, Franklin Ofoma.

Justice Aluko had also directed the Commission to publish the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper, inviting any interested person to appear before the court and show cause why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

Following the publication, the respondents filed an affidavit challenging the application for final forfeiture.

In their affidavit, the respondents initially claimed that the funds used to develop the 52 terrace and maisonette units were generated from the sale of 29 similar units valued at ₦1.9 billion.

However, they later reversed their position by alleging that the 3rd to 19th applicants had failed to complete several of the housing units.

The court found the new claim inconsistent with their earlier deposition, in which they stated that construction of the estate had been completed in 2020 and that proceeds from the sale of the 29 units were used to finance the furnishing and interior decoration of the remaining properties.

EFCC Alleges Respondent Evaded Justice

While moving the motion for final forfeiture, EFCC counsel, Franklin Ofoma, informed the court that the Commission had fully complied with the publication order and supported its application with a 31-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Afolabi Seyi Oladele, a litigation officer in the Commission’s Legal Department.

He argued that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and urged the court to grant the application.

Ofoma further told the court that the second respondent, Ifeanyi Nweke, is a criminal fugitive who has refused to appear before Justice R.A. Oshodi and Justice Okunuga in Charge Nos. ID/25771C/2025 and ID/25769C/2025 for arraignment.

According to the EFCC, Nweke also jumped the administrative bail earlier granted to him by the Commission and remains the subject of two subsisting warrants of arrest.

Delivering judgement, Justice Owoeye held that the respondents’ affidavit was fundamentally unreliable because of the contradictory positions taken by the parties.

The judge ruled that the court could not pick and choose which version of the respondents’ evidence to believe and consequently rejected the entire affidavit filed in opposition to the application.

“Accordingly, I reject the 1st-3rd Respondents’ Affidavit to Show Cause/Counter-Affidavit to the Applicant/Respondent’s Motion on Notice for Final Forfeiture… The consequence is that there is no opposition to the Motion filed by the applicants for the grant of an order of final forfeiture”, the judge held.

Justice Owoeye further ruled that the EFCC had successfully demonstrated reasonable grounds to suspect that the properties were proceeds of unlawful activities and was therefore entitled to the reliefs sought.

“Having resolved the sole issue in this application in favour of the applicants, I hold that this application has merit and ought to be granted. Accordingly, I grant the relief sought in this application as prayed”, she declared.

The judgement permanently vests the 52 luxury terrace and maisonette units at Mercyville Estate, Ilasan, Lekki, in the Federal Government, bringing to a close nearly two years of forfeiture proceedings and marking another significant milestone in the EFCC’s asset recovery campaign.