Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of two vehicles—a white Bentley Coupe and a blue Toyota Venza—linked to one German Daniel Onoriede.
Additionally, the judge approved an interim forfeiture of $20,000, CFA 110,000, and a blue Nissan Almera vehicle.
The forfeiture orders were granted following a motion ex-parte filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Barrister H.U. Kofarnaisa represented the EFCC in the proceedings.
During the hearing on August 1, 2025, Kofarnaisa presented the application, which was supported by an eight-paragraph affidavit from Bufa Okangbe, an EFCC investigating officer.
According to the affidavit, on August 14, 2023, EFCC operatives conducted a sting operation targeting suspected internet fraudsters in various apartments within Ocean Bay Estate, Lekki, Lagos State. One of the suspects, German Daniel Onoriede, evaded arrest by fleeing his apartment.
The affidavit further detailed that two vehicles belonging to Onoriede—a white Bentley Coupe with chassis number SCBFE63WXCC077771 and a blue Toyota Venza with registration number LS368GY—were recovered in his apartment.
Documents related to the Bentley's importation, which were alleged to be funded through illegal activities, were also seized.
Investigations revealed that Onoriede operated multiple bank accounts that received over N500,000,000 (Five Hundred Million Naira) from fraudulent sources between 2018 and 2023.
Convinced by the evidence presented, Justice Dipeolu granted the application for the final forfeiture of the vehicles.
In relation to the interim forfeiture order, Kofarnaisa introduced another affidavit by Solomon Usman, another investigating officer.
Usman recounted an incident on July 13, 2025, during a sting operation by the Nigerian Customs Service at the Seme Border, where a suspected fraudster driving a sky blue Nissan Almera abandoned his vehicle upon spotting the officers and fled into nearby bushes.
A subsequent examination of the abandoned vehicle revealed $20,000 (Twenty Thousand United States Dollars) and CFA 110,000 (One Hundred and Ten Thousand CFA). Kofarnaisa argued that these funds and the Nissan were likely acquired through illicit means and requested their forfeiture.
Justice Dipeolu granted the interim forfeiture order and directed the EFCC to publish this order in a national newspaper, allowing any interested party the opportunity to contest the forfeiture of the funds and property before the court.
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