A certified court document has revealed that former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, earned a total annual remuneration of N350 million during his tenure, in addition to receiving N75 million in quarterly reimbursements and over $6 million in estacodes for international travel.
These revelations emerged in the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which overturned a previous final forfeiture order against a series of properties and assets linked to Emefiele.
The court, in a split decision delivered on April 9, 2025, held that the lower court had not fully evaluated the totality of the evidence presented in the original forfeiture proceedings.
As such, it set aside the ruling of the Federal High Court and ordered a fresh hearing of the case.
“At the risk of prolixity, it should be noted that the appellant stated at paragraph 5 (a), (r) and (v) of his affidavit to show cause, why the properties should not be forfeited. When the appellant left Zenith bank, his severance allowance was N1,750,000,000, while his Zenith bank shares is valued at N500,000,000, and as central bank governor his annual pay was N350,000,000 with quarterly reimbursement of N75,000,000, excluding estacodes paid at $6,285,000; see page 531 of the record of appeal,” the court document read.
Appellate court questions basis of forfeiture
- The decision stemmed from a controversial judgment issued on November 1, 2024, by the Federal High Court in Lagos, which had granted the request of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to permanently forfeit several high-value properties allegedly owned by Emefiele to the Federal Government.
- These properties, according to the EFCC, were suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity. The anti-graft agency had told the court that the acquisitions were made through proxies, corporate entities, and vehicles that could not be directly traced to Emefiele. In its submission, the EFCC stated that the former CBN Governor had failed to provide evidence of legitimate funds used in the transactions and that none of the companies in whose names the properties were acquired had come forward to challenge the forfeiture.
- However, in his defence, Emefiele presented documents showing his income history from Zenith Bank, where he previously served as Managing Director, and his 10-year tenure as CBN Governor. It was on this basis that the court began to question whether the EFCC had sufficiently proven that the properties were acquired illegally.
- Justice Abdulazeez Anka, who delivered the lead judgment, observed that Emefiele’s total declared earnings could indeed afford the assets in question. He further noted that there were material conflicts in the affidavit evidence submitted by both parties, which could only be resolved through oral testimonies and cross-examination.
Court orders retrial, faults affidavit-only proceedings
The court found that the reliance on affidavit evidence alone during the initial proceedings at the Federal High Court did not allow for proper scrutiny of the claims and counterclaims.
Justice Anka stated that the issues at hand required a trial that would involve calling witnesses and cross-examining the deponents of the affidavits submitted.
He added that the trial court should not have dismissed Emefiele’s motion for a stay of proceedings and failed to entertain his motion challenging the EFCC’s counter-affidavit.
The court therefore ruled that the case be remitted to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reallocation to a different judge for a full retrial.
Justice Mohammed Mustapha, who agreed with the lead judgment, added that it was not unusual under Nigerian law for property to be purchased by one person and held in trust by another. He also took note of Emefiele’s Code of Conduct forms from 2014 and 2019, which declared assets jointly owned with his wife.
However, he clarified that most of the disputed properties were acquired between 2020 and 2023, which were outside the scope of the previously filed asset declarations.
He stressed that the correct form for scrutiny would have been the next mandatory asset declaration—expected in 2023—rather than earlier ones that could not conceivably account for assets acquired in subsequent years.
$2 million remains forfeited as the court splits
While the appellate court set aside the forfeiture of some listed real estate and ordered a retrial, it upheld the final forfeiture of $2,045,000 in cash to the Federal Government.
The court noted that Emefiele had not contested the seizure of the cash sum, and therefore, there was no basis for setting it aside.
However, the justices were not unanimous in their reasoning. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Danlami Senchi disagreed with the majority judgment and maintained that the original forfeiture should stand.
He argued that the EFCC had sufficiently established that the properties were acquired through companies not legally linked to Emefiele, and since those entities did not challenge the seizure, the forfeiture was valid.
Justice Senchi further contended that there were no conflicts in the affidavit evidence that necessitated oral testimony, describing the decision to reopen the case for full trial as a delay tactic that could undermine the judicial process. He affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court and dismissed Emefiele’s appeal as lacking merit.
What you should know
The disclosure that former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, earned N350 million annually, with an additional N75 million in quarterly reimbursements and over $6.2 million in estacodes, brings his total annual benefits close to at least N650 million, excluding foreign travel allowances. This revelation, documented in a Court of Appeal judgment, places his compensation well within the bracket of Nigeria’s highest-paid corporate executives, despite occupying a public office.
According to Nairametrics’ latest CEO pay report, Nigeria’s top 10 highest-paid Chief Executive Officers across all sectors collectively earned N11.6 billion in 2024, up from N7.9 billion in 2023. This jump in executive compensation reflects the evolving corporate landscape and the growing emphasis on performance-based leadership.
Among these top earners, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, who became the first female Group MD/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc in June 2024, earned N874 million in 2024. Her compensation was one of the highest in the country, despite it being lower than her predecessor’s due to a mid-year appointment.
Meanwhile, Segun Agbaje, Group CEO of GTCO, earned N471 million in 2024. Under his leadership, GTCO reported N2.1 trillion in revenue and N1.26 trillion in pre-tax profit, making it one of the top-performing companies in the financial sector.
