Appeal Court Uphold’s EFFC’s Right To Seize Yahaya Bello’s Properties

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has reversed an earlier decision by a Federal High Court that stopped the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from seizing 14 properties allegedly linked to Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, as part of his ongoing court case involving fraud and misappropriation of funds.

Justice Yargata Nimpar, delivering the judgment virtually with two other justices concurring, said the lower court erred by dismissing the case based on the governor’s constitutional immunity. She stated the court should have ruled on whether the properties should be permanently forfeited to the government.

With this new ruling, the EFCC is now allowed to go ahead with a full hearing to decide if the properties should be permanently forfeited.

The matter began in February 2023, when Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos, had granted an interim forfeiture order allowing the EFCC to temporarily seize the 14 properties located in Lagos, Abuja, and Dubai.

The agency had claimed the properties were likely bought with illegal money.

The court also told the EFCC to publish the order in newspapers and give others the chance to contest the seizure if they had any interest in the properties.

Governor Bello later filed an objection. He argued that the Proceeds of Crime Act, 2022 could not be applied retrospectively as the properties were bought before he became governor and couldn’t have been purchased with state money.

Invoking Section 308 of the Constitution, which grants diplomatic immunity, he also claimed that the EFCC had no right to go after him because, as a sitting governor, he was protected by the Constitution from having any legal action instituted against him while he was in office.

Bello’s team further argued that EFCC’s action violated an order of a Kogi State High Court restraining the agency from investigating state accounts and that the Federal High Court in Lagos lacked jurisdiction in the matter, as the properties were located in Abuja, Kogi, and Dubai.

The EFCC, led by lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), insisted that the properties, including a luxury apartment in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, were suspicious and likely funded by crime. They also asked for the forfeiture of ₦400 million linked to the same case.

But the Federal High Court judge, Oweibo, agreed with Bello, and subsequently lifted the interim forfeiture order on April 26, 2023, on the ground that Section 308 of the Constitution protected a sitting governor from any civil or criminal proceedings and struck out the case. 

The Appeal Court now agrees with the EFCC. It ruled that even though a governor is protected from being sued, that does not apply to property that may have been bought with illegal money. The court said such property can still be investigated and temporarily seized until a final decision is made.

The court dismissed all of Bello’s objections, restored the seizure order, and told the EFCC to continue with the process to permanently take over the properties.