By Chibuike Nwabuko
IKEJA (PRECISE POST) – A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of 52 terrace and maisonette housing units located in the Lekki area of Lagos to the Federal Government, in a major victory for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On its official X handle on Saturday, the EFCC said that Justice Alexandra Owoeye delivered the ruling on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, granting the application filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC. The properties, situated at Mercyville Estate, Covenant Way, off New Road, Ilasan, Lagos, were recovered from Fielddreams Limited, Ifeanyi Nweke and Amex Savings and Loans Limited.
The EFCC, through its counsel, Franklin Ofoma, argued that the properties were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities. The anti-graft agency informed the court that it had fully complied with an earlier order directing it to publish the interim forfeiture in a national newspaper to allow interested parties to challenge the forfeiture.
The commission had earlier secured an interim forfeiture order on August 14, 2024, before Justice Akintayo Aluko. The court also directed the publication of the order, following which the respondents filed an affidavit seeking to prevent the final forfeiture.
However, the EFCC told the court that the respondents made conflicting claims in their affidavit. While they initially stated that the funds used to develop the 52 housing units came from the sale of 29 other terrace and maisonette units worth ₦1.9 billion, they later claimed that some of the applicants had failed to complete the buildings. According to the commission, the latter position contradicted their earlier sworn evidence that construction had been completed in 2020 and that proceeds from the sales were used for furnishing and interior decoration.
Ofoma also informed the court that the second respondent, Ifeanyi Nweke, is a fugitive facing criminal charges before two separate courts. He said Nweke had failed to appear for arraignment despite two subsisting warrants of arrest and had also jumped the administrative bail earlier granted to him by the EFCC.
In her ruling, Justice Owoeye held that the contradictions in the respondents’ affidavit rendered their evidence unreliable.
The judge ruled that the court could not “pick and choose” which parts of the respondents’ evidence to believe and consequently rejected the entire affidavit filed in opposition to the EFCC’s application.
The court thereafter granted the EFCC’s motion, ordering the final forfeiture of the 52 terrace and maisonette units to the Federal Government. The decision marks another significant asset recovery by the anti-corruption agency in its ongoing campaign against financial crimes and illicit wealth.
