Court Seizes ₦850m, Luxury Mansions, Exotic Cars In Major Lagos Fraud Scandal

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has obtained a final forfeiture order against assets linked to Stanley Akaria Chinemerem, who was accused of defrauding his employer, Godwin Uche Okearafor.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the forfeiture of several properties, including a fully detached six-bedroom duplex located on Nnabuinyi Street, Amuwo Odofin, two undeveloped plots of land in Onireke Town within the same area, as well as two luxury vehicles—a 2012 black Toyota Highlander and a 2018 red Toyota Venza.

In addition to the physical assets, the court approved the seizure of funds in 28 bank accounts spread across multiple financial institutions such as Access Bank, FCMB, Zenith Bank, Globus Bank, Palmpay, and Fidelity Bank.

Justice Chukwujeku Aneke of the Lagos Judicial Division delivered the final forfeiture order after months of investigations and legal proceedings, marking a major success for the EFCC in its anti-corruption efforts.

EFCC counsel, Zeenat B. Atiku, told the court that investigations uncovered fraudulent transactions amounting to about ₦850 million, which were traced from Okearafor’s account to several accounts controlled by Chinemerem, despite his reported monthly salary of just ₦90,000.

According to the EFCC, Chinemerem exploited his role as an employee of Okearafor, a Lagos-based cosmetics entrepreneur, by manipulating post-dated cheques issued by customers and diverting the proceeds into his personal accounts without permission.

The Commission further explained in its affidavit that the suspect allegedly laundered the stolen funds through multiple bank accounts, converted portions into digital assets, and used the proceeds to acquire high-end properties and vehicles.

The EFCC also disclosed that following an interim forfeiture order issued on December 12, 2025, Chinemerem voluntarily handed over some of the properties and vehicles to the Commission.

With the final order granted on February 10, 2026, ownership of the forfeited assets—including cash, properties, and vehicles—has now been transferred to the Federal Government of Nigeria in favour of Godwin Uche Okearafor, effectively barring Chinemerem from benefiting from the alleged proceeds of the fraud.

The EFCC welcomed the ruling, stressing the effectiveness of non-conviction-based forfeiture as a legal mechanism for recovering assets suspected to be linked to criminal activities, even where a conviction has not yet been secured.

In its application, the Commission relied on provisions of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, as well as Section 44(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, arguing that the forfeited assets were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity and that the action served the interest of justice.