The Court of Appeal sitting in Sokoto has set aside the final forfeiture order granted by the Federal High Court, Birnin Kebbi, in a case involving Sterling Bank Plc and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged unlawful gains from foreign exchange transactions.
Justice Abdullahi M. Liman, who delivered the judgment on July 17, 2025, criticised the lower court’s handling of the matter, particularly its reliance on ex parte applications without proper judicial scrutiny. He described the earlier forfeiture decision as “perverse and unsupportable by the evidence on record.”
The EFCC had previously secured a preservative order from the Federal High Court to forfeit two sums ₦36.4 million and ₦35.2 million suspected to be linked to unlawful activities. These sums were allegedly proceeds and profits from FX transactions traced to Sterling Bank.
In its defence, Sterling Bank argued that the funds in question were linked to a legitimate loan arrangement with a client and challenged the lower court’s jurisdiction. The bank also maintained that there was no evidence to suggest any wrongdoing, calling the EFCC’s assertions speculative.
Justice Liman, agreeing with the bank’s position, faulted the increasing trend among lower courts to issue forfeiture orders under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act or the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022 (POCA), without satisfying the statutory threshold of “reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity.”
The judge criticised the EFCC for failing to establish a credible link between the funds and any unlawful conduct, noting that the Commission had accepted a ₦30 million payment from the client in question but did not account for its return or forfeiture.
“The conduct must be deprecated. Lower courts must show on their records how they arrived at the decision to make such interim orders,” Justice Liman stated.
Consequently, the Appeal Court unanimously allowed the appeal, setting aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/KB/CS/34/2023, which was delivered on July 15, 2024. The court ruled that there was no basis for the forfeiture, declaring that Sterling Bank had not engaged in any unlawful activity.