The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, June 1, 2026, ordered the final forfeiture of N17,100,595.40 to the Federal Government of Nigeria in a case involving alleged romance fraud proceeds traced to one Ifeanyi Alele David.
Justice A.O. Owoeye granted the order following a motion on notice filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), through its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, Ikoyi, with prosecution counsel C.C. Okezie leading the application.
The forfeited funds, domiciled in an Access Bank account, were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities linked to an international romance fraud investigation.
The court had earlier, on February 26, 2026, granted an interim forfeiture order and directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
Moving the application for final forfeiture, Okezie informed the court that the Commission had complied with the directive by publishing the notice in The Punch newspaper on April 10, 2026.
She further told the court that no individual or corporate entity came forward to challenge the interim order within the stipulated period.
The application was supported by an affidavit deposed to by EFCC operative Samson Aguma, who detailed the findings of the investigation, including a petition received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over an alleged transnational romance scam network.
According to the affidavit, the FBI linked the suspect to a case involving the death of a United States citizen in Denver, Colorado, who reportedly died by suicide in September 2021 after being defrauded.
Investigations revealed that the victim had been communicating via the Google Hangouts platform with an individual identified as “Garry Michael,” who allegedly obtained funds from her under false pretenses, including claims of imprisonment and requests for financial assistance.
The affidavit further disclosed that on the day of her death, the victim was allegedly pressured to send an additional $60,000 despite expressing severe financial hardship.
It also stated that she had transferred about $154,500 between August 30 and September 13, 2021, through various channels tied to the fraudulent scheme.
Aguma told the court that forensic analysis including email tracing, IP address tracking, telephone records, and Apple iCloud data linked the fraudulent activities to the defendant in Nigeria.
He added that the N17.1 million found in the defendant’s Access Bank account was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime derived from the romance scam network.
After reviewing the submissions and affidavit evidence, Justice Owoeye held that the EFCC had successfully established its case and subsequently ordered the final forfeiture of the sum to the Federal Government of Nigeria.