Court of Appeal Reinstates Order on 14 Properties & ₦400 Million Linked to Ex-Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello

On Wednesday, August 6, 2025, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, reinstated a preservation order over 14 properties and the sum of ₦400 million allegedly connected to Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State.

The preservation order was originally issued on February 22, 2023, by Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, following an application by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The order covered various assets, including the “Hotel Apartment Community, Burj Khalifa, Plot 160 Municipality No. 345-7562, Sky View Building No. 1, Property No. 401, Floor 4, Dubai, U.A.E.”, as well as funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity. The ruling was made under Sections 9 and 10 of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022.

However, on April 26, 2023, the Federal High Court struck out the EFCC’s case for final forfeiture on the grounds that Bello, as a sitting governor at the time, enjoyed constitutional immunity under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.

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The EFCC, dissatisfied with the decision, appealed through its legal team led by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, alongside Bilkisu Buhari Bala, S.I. Suleiman, and Chinenye C. Okezie. The Commission argued that the trial court wrongly extended immunity to properties suspected to be linked to criminal proceeds, contrary to judicial precedents, including EFCC v. Fayose (2018) LPELR-44131(CA) and Fawehinmi v. IGP (2002) 7 NWLR (Pt.767) 606.

The EFCC maintained that Section 308 protects a sitting governor from civil or criminal proceedings but does not shield assets traced to suspected illicit origins. It further contended that the lower court’s refusal to uphold the preservation order, despite finding that the respondent could not prove the lawful source of the funds, amounted to a miscarriage of justice.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Nimpar B. Yargata, supported by the two other justices, upheld the EFCC’s appeal. The panel held that the trial court had misapplied Section 308 and erred in striking out the case. Consequently, the appellate court restored the preservation order and directed that proceedings for the final forfeiture of the properties should continue.

Media & Publicity
August 6, 2025

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