Zainab Abioye
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of 431 mobile phones allegedly recovered from Chinese nationals arrested over suspected romance and investment scam operations in the state.
Justice Dehinde Dipeolu granted the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, following arguments by counsel to the anti-graft agency, Hanatu Kofarnaisa.
The latest forfeiture is connected to the EFCC’s investigation into a large-scale operation uncovered in December 2024 at a seven-storey building in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The EFCC had arrested 792 suspects during the operation, including 114 Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Kazakh nationals, one Pakistani and one Indonesian.
According to the commission, the foreign nationals were allegedly using the facility to train Nigerians in methods for initiating and operating romance and investment scams.
Some of the foreign suspects were subsequently convicted, while assets linked to the investigation were forfeited to the Federal Government.
The EFCC had previously secured forfeiture orders covering a wide range of items recovered from the facility, including computers, mobile phones, SIM cards, routers, office equipment, vehicles, refrigerators, mattresses and other property.
Among the items earlier forfeited were 1,596 computers and laptops, 4,091 mobile phones, 350 foreign SIM cards and 3,399 Nigerian SIM cards belonging to various telecommunications operators.
The Nigerian SIM cards comprised 1,122 MTN SIMs, 316 9mobile SIMs, 1,277 Airtel SIMs and 684 Glo SIMs.
Other forfeited items included 194 routers, 205 sofas, 501 double-step bunk beds, 754 mattresses, 40 refrigerators, 10 microwaves, seven vehicles, 411 deep freezers, 558 office tables, a network server, six gas cylinders and several other electrical and office appliances.
The EFCC also said digital assets worth $222,729 in USDT had been forfeited to the Federal Government in connection with the case.
431 MORE PHONES TARGETED
The latest 431 phones became the subject of separate forfeiture proceedings after the EFCC approached the court in July 2026 for an interim forfeiture order.
The commission told the court that the mobile devices were allegedly linked to the suspects and were believed to have been used in the commission of fraudulent activities.
The court subsequently granted the interim order and directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper to give interested parties an opportunity to appear before the court and explain why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, the EFCC informed the court that it had complied with the publication requirement by placing the interim forfeiture notice in The Guardian newspaper on August 11, 2026.
EFCC counsel, Kofarnaisa, argued that the commission had fulfilled the statutory requirements for the final forfeiture of the devices.
She therefore urged the court to grant the application in the interest of justice.
After hearing the application, Justice Dipeolu ordered the final forfeiture of all 431 mobile phones to the Federal Government.
