“Threatened To Shoot Court Officials” — APC Chieftain Ikechi Emenike Accuses EFCC of Defying Court Order to Seize His Abuja Property
A fierce legal showdown has erupted between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Chief Ikechi Emenike, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Abia State during the 2023 elections, over a high-value property located at 6 Aso Drive, Asokoro, Abuja.
Chief Emenike has accused the EFCC of ignoring a valid court order by forcefully taking over the property, which he claims has been his residence for over a decade. According to him, Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the EFCC to vacate the building, rejecting the commission’s request for a stay of execution.
However, the EFCC denies any wrongdoing, asserting that it obtained a proper court order for possession and that it is not in the habit of disobeying judicial directives. “It is not in the character of the EFCC to engage in judicial disobedience,” the agency said in a rebuttal, insisting that Emenike’s tenancy status does not override a lawful forfeiture.
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The commission also countered Emenike’s claim of holding a Right of First Refusal for the property, explaining that the court only ruled he could be considered for purchase if the property were put up for sale — a process the EFCC says has not occurred.
But Emenike provided rental receipts from 2017 to 2022 and claimed he paid rent through EFCC-appointed agents. He further alleged that the EFCC went behind his back, ignored a standing court judgment, and allocated the property to its chairman — prompting him to sue.
According to Emenike, the court sided with him and declared that the EFCC had no right to convert a forfeited property for its own use. The judge ruled the house must be sold, and that Emenike, as a tenant, should be offered the Right of First Refusal.
Despite this, Emenike said the EFCC stormed the residence with an ex parte eviction order, expelled his domestic staff, and occupied the property. When bailiffs attempted to enforce the reversal of that order, EFCC operatives allegedly resisted and even threatened violence.
“The court has since told the EFCC to vacate the property, but they refused. Instead, they filed for a stay of execution, which the court dismissed, calling their actions ‘unconscionable,’” Emenike claimed.
The controversy underscores growing tensions between Nigeria’s anti-graft agency and prominent political figures, with legal observers watching closely to see how the judiciary will assert its authority in the matter.
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