The Court of Appeal in Lagos has given the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission the green light to keep 14 properties linked to ex-Kogi governor Yahaya Bello under interim forfeiture.
Overturning a Federal High Court decision, the three-judge panel ruled that immunity for serving governors does not protect assets suspected of being bought with dirty money.
The disputed properties — in Lagos, Abuja and Dubai, including a luxury apartment in the Burj Khalifa — will now be subject to a full forfeiture hearing.
Bello’s lawyers maintain they were purchased before he became governor and unrelated to public funds. But the appeal court dismissed all their objections, siding with the EFCC’s interpretation of the law.
