Emefiele used cronies to acquire properties, witness alleges

A prosecution witness in the alleged $4.5bn fraud trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has told a Lagos court that the ex-governor allegedly used associates to acquire properties worth far beyond his legitimate earnings while in office.
The eighth prosecution witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, who led the investigation team, gave the account on Thursday before the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja.

Gurumnaan said investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission revealed that Emefiele allegedly acquired several properties through associates in Lagos and other parts of the country.
He listed the properties to include two twin duplexes in Lekki Phase 1, two mansions on Queens Drive, Ikoyi, an uncompleted factory in Agbor, Delta State, and a printing and minting company property on Adekunle Lawal Street, Ikoyi.
Others, according to the witness, included a warehouse in Ogun State containing containers worth hundreds of billions of naira, two-storey buildings comprising 94 luxury flats under construction, an industrial park and an estate in Abuja with more than 700 duplexes under construction.

Gurumnaan said the properties had been forfeited to the Federal Government following court judgments.
“My Lord, several courts have given judgments in favour of the EFCC, forfeiting assets and properties belonging to Emefiele. He accepted and came to court that the properties belong to him,” he told the court.

The witness also alleged that Emefiele acquired a property on Adekunle Lawal Street, Ikoyi, which previously belonged to the Nigerian Printing and Minting Company, where he served as chairman of the board.
He claimed that the former CBN governor sold the property to himself.
“The property, a block of eight flats in Ikoyi, has also been forfeited to the government,” Gurumnaan said.

He further told the court that investigators recovered another warehouse allegedly belonging to Emefiele in Ogun State, on the outskirts of Lagos.
The witness said Emefiele's statement was recorded after intelligence was received by the special operations team he led.
However, counsel to Emefiele, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), urged the court to disregard the witness's evidence concerning the properties in Agbor and Adekunle Lawal Street, arguing that they were not included in the charges against his client.

The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, on a 19-count charge bordering on alleged receipt of gratification and corrupt demands during his tenure as CBN governor.
Prosecution counsel and Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), who appeared with B. Bilkisu, C.C. Okezie and Z.B. Atiku, tendered a document containing a Supreme Court judgment as an exhibit.
Justice Rahman Oshodi adjourned the case until Friday, November 13, 2026, for a ruling on the admissibility of the document and continuation of the trial.