A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of N17.1 million linked to an alleged romance fraud scheme to the Federal Government.
Justice A.O. Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi made the order on Monday following an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The forfeited sum of N17,100,595.40, domiciled in an Access Bank account, is linked to one Ifeanyi Alele David, who is under investigation by the anti-graft agency for alleged romance fraud and related offences.
Counsel to the EFCC, C.C. Okezie, informed the court that the commission had earlier secured an interim forfeiture order on Feb. 26, 2026.
According to her, the court subsequently directed the publication of the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper to allow any interested person or entity to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
Okezie told the court that the commission complied with the directive by publishing the notice in a national daily on April 10, 2026.
She added that no person came forward within the stipulated period to challenge the forfeiture.
The application for final forfeiture was supported by an affidavit deposed to by an EFCC operative, Samson Aguma, detailing the outcome of investigations conducted by the commission.
According to the affidavit, the EFCC received intelligence from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alleging that David was involved in a romance scam linked to the death of an American citizen.
The affidavit stated that on Sept. 15, 2021, a romance fraud victim was found dead in a hotel room in Denver, Colorado.
Investigators reportedly recovered the victim’s mobile device and discovered multiple messages exchanged with an individual identified as “Garry Micheal” through the Google Hangouts platform.
Further investigations allegedly revealed that the suspect repeatedly solicited funds from the victim under various false pretences, including claims that he needed money to secure his release from prison and facilitate his return to the United States.
The affidavit also alleged that on the day the victim took her own life, the suspect demanded an additional 60,000 dollars despite being aware of her severe financial difficulties.
Investigators said the victim transferred approximately 154,500 dollars between Aug. 30 and Sept. 13, 2021, through channels linked to the alleged fraudulent scheme.
The EFCC operative stated that forensic investigations traced email accounts, internet protocol addresses, telephone records and an Apple iCloud account connected to the scheme to David in Nigeria.
He further stated that the N17.1 million discovered in David’s bank account was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities linked to the alleged fraud.
After considering the submissions and evidence presented by the EFCC, Justice Owoeye held that the application had merit and granted the order for the final forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Government.
The EFCC said the forfeiture forms part of its efforts to trace, recover and confiscate proceeds of crime in line with the provisions of relevant laws.
