The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of the sum of N13 million, recovered from one Vincent Ezeudemba, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu delivered the ruling on Monday, following a motion on notice brought before the court by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), situated on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. The application was filed through EFCC counsel, C.C. Okezie.
Ezeudemba reportedly defrauded a victim by falsely claiming he possessed Chinese Yuan for exchange into Naira. The funds in question were part of the proceeds of a N40 million scam executed under the guise of a foreign exchange transaction.
Dele Oyewale, EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Monday.
Prior to the final order, Justice Dipeolu had granted an interim forfeiture of the N13 million and directed that the order be published in a national newspaper to allow any interested parties to contest the forfeiture. No objections were raised.
In the affidavit supporting the application, EFCC operative Abubakar Gozaki stated that the Commission had received a petition alleging that Ezeudemba and an associate, Liu Hui Jing, obtained N40 million through false pretences and forgery.
“During the course of the investigation, it was established that in June 2023, Mr Ezeudemba deceived the victim into transferring N40 million to his Opay account (Account Number: 9065945449) under the pretence of exchanging it for Chinese Yuan,” the affidavit reads.
“After receiving the money, the suspect failed to transfer the Yuan as promised. Instead, he issued forged telex copies as evidence of a transaction that never took place.”
Further investigations revealed that Ezeudemba converted N27 million for his personal use, leaving an outstanding balance of N13,000,260 – the amount now subject to the court’s forfeiture order.
Okezie, in her submission, argued that the funds discovered in Ezeudemba’s account were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities. She also confirmed compliance with the court’s directive to publish the interim forfeiture notice in a national daily.
In delivering his judgment, Justice Dipeolu stated that the court found merit in the EFCC’s application and, accordingly, granted the final forfeiture of the N13 million to the Federal Government.
The ruling marks another victory in the EFCC’s ongoing efforts to clamp down on financial crimes and recover proceeds of fraud in Nigeria.
