The recent announcement by the Federal Government to sell a massive real estate property linked to former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele is not only troubling but also patently illegal. The said estate, comprising over 753 housing units and sitting on more than 150,000 square metres in Abuja, was purportedly recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and forfeited to the government via an order by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court on December 2, 2024.

While the EFCC trumpeted this as the “largest single asset recovery” in its history, what has gone largely unreported is that Mr. Emefiele has challenged this forfeiture in court and that appeal is still pending.

A Premature and Illegal Move

In April 2025, Mr. Emefiele filed a Motion on Notice to set aside the forfeiture order, stating that the proceedings leading to the order were concealed from him despite his multiple pending cases with the EFCC. He argued that the agency deliberately withheld notice of the forfeiture to prevent him from contesting the action, thereby denying him a constitutional right to fair hearing.

Furthermore, a formal Notice of Appeal has been duly filed and served, raising substantial issues of law. These include:

-Whether the EFCC failed to disclose material facts before the trial court;

– Whether the forfeiture was obtained in breach of natural justice;

– And whether the trial court had jurisdiction to entertain the ex parte application under the circumstances.

Once such a Notice of Appeal is filed and served, any action on the subject matter becomes sub judice. The law is clear: you cannot dispose of or transfer a property that is actively under litigation. The doctrine of lis pendens forbids it. To act otherwise is not only presumptuous but legally reckless.

Contempt of Court in Motion

By going ahead to plan a public sale of this estate, the Federal Government and the EFCC are effectively acting in contempt of the appellate court’s jurisdiction. The case is live, the appeal is active, and the property in question remains the subject of litigation. Any sale or transfer at this point is not just improper, it may be declared null and void ab initio.

Moreover, this sets a dangerous precedent. It signals that the government is willing to ignore ongoing judicial processes, undermining public trust in the legal system and diminishing the integrity of our institutions. It erodes the basic foundation of the rule of law: no one is above the law, not even the government.

The Proper Course

The Federal Government must immediately halt any plans to sell or distribute the estate. It must wait for the determination of the appeal filed by Mr. Emefiele. Any further action will only strengthen the argument that the entire forfeiture process was tainted by bad faith, political overreach, and executive lawlessness.

The rule of law demands restraint, respect for due process, and an adherence to judicial oversight. If the government fails to obey these principles, it risks delegitimizing its own anti-corruption efforts and that is a far greater loss than any 753-unit estate.

Umar writes from Lagos