Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of $20,000 and CFA 110,000 intercepted by operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) at the Seme Border in Badagry, Lagos State, to the Federal government.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, followed a motion on notice filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), through its counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa.
The intercepted cash were handed over by the NCS to the EFCC for further investigation after they were discovered at the border checkpoint.
Justice Dipeolu had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on the funds and directed that the order be published in a national newspaper to allow any interested parties to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the government.
While moving the final forfeiture application, Kofarnaisa informed the court that it was supported by an 18-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Mufassir Jega, an EFCC investigating officer.
She also confirmed that the interim order had been duly published in the Daily Trust newspaper on August 29, 2025, in compliance with the court’s directive.
The EFCC lawyer submitted that the funds were “reasonably suspected to have been acquired from unlawful activities,” and urged the court to grant the final forfeiture request.
Justice Dipeolu agreed with the prosecution, ruling that the application had merit, and consequently ordered that the seized sums be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.