February 25, (THEWILL) – Anita Joy Omoile and 12 others, including DeepBlue Energy Service, an ISO 9001 QMS certified company, have asked the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal to void or set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court, which ordered final forfeiture of its cash and investments – $4,719,054 million, N830,875,611 million, and properties – to the Federal Government.
Justice Yellim Bogoro, on Friday, February 21, granted a request filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for final forfeiture of the funds and properties. Rotimi Oyedepo SAN had argued for the anti-graft agency that the assets were proceeds of suspected unlawful activities by Omoile, who has significant holdings in the companies and is also an alleged associate of Godwin Emefiele, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The legal team of the former apex bank chief had earlier disassociated Emefiele from ownership of the forfeited funds and assets.
According to EFCC counsel, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, the disputed funds are held in First Bank; Titan Bank and Zenith Bank, being operated by Omoile Anita Joy; Deep Blue Energy Service Limited; Exactquote Bureau De Change Ltd; Lipam Investment Services Limited; Tatler Services Limited; Rosajul Global Resources Ltd and TIL Communication Nigeria Ltd.
The properties include: “94 units of an 11-storey building under construction at 2, Otunba Elegushi 2nd Avenue (formerly Club) Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; AM Plaza, an 11-story office space located at 1E, Otunba Adedoyin Crescent, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, Lagos; Imore Industrial Park 1, Esa Street, Imoore Land purchased with Deep Bive Industrial Town, Oriade LCDA, Amuwo Odofin LGA, Lagos; Mitrewood and Tatler Warehouse (Furniture Plant at Bogije) near Elemoro Lagos, Owolomi Village, Ibeju-Lekki LGA, Lagos; and 2 properties acquired from Chevron Nigeria, Closed PFA Fund, Block B.Lot.Twin Completed Property Lakes Estate, Lekki.
“One plot measuring 1,038.069 sqm at Lekki Foreshore Estate Scheme, Block A, Plot 4, Foreshore Estate, Eti-Osa LGA; an estate located at 100, Cottonwood Coppel Texas Drive, Coppel, Texas, owned by Lipam Investment Services; a land at 1, Bunmi Owulude Street (Maruwa), Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; and a property situated at 8, Bayo Kuku Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.”
THEWILL recalls that a Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice C.J. Aneke, had, on May 14, 2024, vacated the interim forfeiture order sought by the EFCC on the monies and properties. However, in a determined effort to target the funds and assets, the anti-graft agency, after losing before Justice Aneke on May 24, 2024, filed another ex parte application before Justice Bogoro.
Noting in the appeal filed on Monday, the appellants contended, among others, that “the lower court erred in law when it failed/refused to set aside/vacate the ex parte orders made on 23d of May 2024 when it held in its judgement delivered on 21 February 2025 that at the stage of applying for the interim ex parte order of forfeiture, the 1st Respondent (EFCC) does not have the burden to prove a prima facie case that the properties in Schedules A and B, subject matter of the ex parte orders of Interim forfeiture were derived from unlawful means/activities.
“That the said decision of the lower court is contrary to section 44(1) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and particularly section 17(1) of the Advanced Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related offences Act No 14, 2006 which provides that the court shall not make an order of forfeiture of the proceeds of unlawful activity unless the commission reasonably suspects that the properties were proceeds of unlawful activities and the court is reasonably satisfied that such property is the proceeds of unlawful activity under the Acts stated in this subsection.
“That the lower court erred in law when it held that Suit No. FHC/L/MSC/295/2024 Between EFCC v. Anita Omoile & os. is not an abuse of court process when the same court per Hon. Justice CJ. Aneke had previously dismissed Suit No. FHC/L/CS/2485/2023 between EFCC V. Anita Omoile in respect of the same or similar properties (subject matter) on the ground that while Suit No. FHC/L/Cs/2485/2023 was brought under section 34(1) of the EFCC Act and section 44 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended); Suit No. FHC/L/MSC/295/2024 was brought under section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud.
“The lower court erred in law when it relied upon some extrajudicial statements made by some persons who the 1st Respondent (EFCC) arrested and kept in their custody for weeks to hold that there is evidence before it that the funds and properties referred to in Schedules A and B in Suit No. FHC/L/MSC/295/2024 were derived from unlawful activities.
“The lower court was wrong when it held that the 1st Respondent (EFCC) has proved that the origin or sources of the funds in the account listed in Schedule A and the properties stated in Schedule B were acquired from unlawful activities when there is no single relevant credible and admissible evidence/document before the court which justified such a finding.”
The appellants are, therefore, praying the court to declare the judgement of the lower court a nullity or, in the alternative, set aside the whole judgement of the lower court.
In addition, they prayed the court to set aside the ex parte orders granted by the lower court on 23rd of May 2024 and release to the Appellants all the funds stated in Schedule A and all the properties stated in Schedule of the originating application.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal.
Meanwhile, while the appeal is pending before the Court of Appeal, Omoile and 12 others, have also filed an application before Justice Bogoro, seeking to stay the execution of his Order of final forfeiture, pending the hearing and final determination of the appeal.
The application filed before Justice Bogoro at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, on Monday, February 24, was brought pursuant to Order 26 Rule 1&2 and Order 32 Rule 1, 2, 3(1), (2) and 4 (1) of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2019.
They are seeking “AN ORDER of this Honourable Court staying the execution of the judgement delivered on 21st of February 2025 in Suit No. FHC/UMISCI295/2024 pending the hearing and final determination of the Applicants’ appeal against the judgement to the Court of Appeal, Lagos, as contained on the Notice of Appeal dated and filed February 24, 2025.
“AN ORDER of injunction restraining the 1st Respondent either by itself or through its officers, agents, assigns, privies or howsoever described from taking or continuing to take any steps towards enforcing, or in furtherance of the Judgement of the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division (Corem: Bogoro J.) delivered on Friday, February 21, 2025, in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/295/2024 pending the hearing and final determination of the Applicant’s appeal against the Judgement”, the applicants prayed in their notice.
Relying on five grounds of argument in support of the prayers, the applicants argued among others, that the “Appeal contains substantial points of law and arguable issues especially the use of extra-judicial statements made to the investigating authority (EFCC) to find that the Applicants sources of money contained in Schedule A and the Applicants properties contained in Schedule B of the Originating Application were derived from illegal sources.”
They argued that “Extra judicial statements made in such circumstances are only used in criminal cases for contradicting the makers and have never been used before in civil matters and this amounts to a substantial point of law raised in our Notice of Appeal.
“That in the opinion of the Applicants, the Notice of Appeal as a whole raises substantial points of law.
“That the balance of convenience is on the side of the Applicants who stand the risk of losing their entire funds and properties if the application for stay of execution of the judgment of this Court in the above-cited case is executed before the consideration of this application.”
The Applicants are ANITA JOY OMOILE, DEEP BLUE ENERGY SERVICES, PROJECT ACCOUNT LIMITED, DEEP BLUE ENERGY SERVICES LTD, EXACTQUOTE BUREAU DE CHANGE LTD., LIPAM INVESTMENT SERVICES LTD., DEEP BLUE INDUSTRIAL PARK LTD., TATLER SERVICES LTD., TIL COMMUNICATIONS LTD., ROSAJUL GLOBAL RESOURCES LTD., DEEP BLUE MARINE MANAGEMENT LTD., SILVER CASE PROPERTIES LTD., MITREWOOD LTD., and MR JONAH
The Respondents are the EFCC and two others.
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