The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed fresh criminal charges against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, accusing him of grand theft and the illegal acquisition of a sprawling estate consisting of 753 duplexes in Abuja, alongside the alleged concealment of billions of naira using proxy accounts during his tenure as head of the apex bank.
The fresh eight-count charge, marked CR/350/25, was submitted by the EFCC at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. According to the details contained in the charge sheet, Emefiele, in connivance with a certain Eric Ocheme, who is currently on the run, allegedly acquired a large housing estate situated at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, in the Lokogoma District of Abuja. The property in question spans approximately 150,462.86 square metres and comprises 753 residential units, raising serious concerns about abuse of office and illicit wealth accumulation.
EFCC sources confirmed that the estate was previously recovered from a top government official and had already been forfeited to the Federal Government through an order secured at the High Court in Apo, Abuja. While the property has since been handed over to the federal authorities for eventual sale to low- and middle-income Nigerians as part of a national housing plan, Emefiele, through his legal counsel, A.M. Kotoye (SAN), had approached the court to challenge the forfeiture. However, the court dismissed his application. He has since filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, alongside a notice of injunction aimed at halting further action on the property pending the outcome of the appeal.
In addition to the real estate scandal, the anti-graft agency also levelled weighty financial allegations against the embattled former CBN governor. The EFCC claims that Emefiele managed and retained roughly ₦6.92 billion in suspicious corporate and personal accounts between 2019 and 2022, with a pattern of complex fund movements that suggest concealment of proceeds of crime.
Prosecutors allege that in 2019 alone, ₦167 million was found domiciled in a proxy account at Zenith Bank. Further investigations revealed that Kelvito Integrated Services Ltd, allegedly a front company, was used as a conduit for illicit funds. The EFCC asserts that Kelvito’s Zenith Bank account (Account No: 1016232915) held ₦1.23 billion in 2020, ₦2.94 billion in 2021, and ₦1.98 billion in 2022, totalling nearly ₦6.2 billion over three years.
Another company, Ifedigo Integrated Services, with Zenith Bank account number 1210750237, reportedly received ₦900 million and ₦600 million in separate transactions. The EFCC insists that the funds routed through these entities were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of corruption and abuse of public office.
Moreover, the commission accused Emefiele of document forgery in his efforts to legitimise questionable property deals. One of the counts alleges that in January 2021, he forged an “Irrevocable Power of Attorney”, supposedly executed between MG Properties Limited and H & Y Business Global Limited, to falsely validate a property transaction. The act, according to the EFCC, contravenes Sections 319, 362, and 364 of the Penal Code, which deal with forgery and false documentation.
This latest development adds to the growing list of legal troubles confronting Mr. Emefiele, who is already facing prosecution in Lagos over a separate multi-billion-dollar foreign exchange allocation scandal said to have occurred during his controversial reign as CBN governor.
The charges further reinforce growing public calls for transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s financial sector, especially among high-ranking officials previously entrusted with safeguarding the country’s monetary policy and economic integrity.
