In a statement on Monday, Dele Oyewale, spokesperson of the anti-graft agency, said reports suggesting otherwise were based on falsehood.

Oyewale said while the EFCC is not in the habit of reacting to insinuations about its handling of judicial processes, it is necessary to set the record straight.

He noted that the court granted the order after the commission submitted that the property was “a proceed of an unlawful act” by Diezani Allison-Madueke, former minister of petroleum resources, and had been forfeited to the federal government.

“The EFCC is renowned for its avowed respect for the rule of law, and no claim of disobedience of court order can stand,” the statement reads.

“Justice Liman granted the order when the Commission submitted that the property was a proceed of an unlawful act by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke, and forfeited to the government through an order of final forfeiture.

“It is also needful to state that the Commission neither suppressed nor misrepresented any material fact before the court in securing an ex-parte order on March 27, 2025, to get a tenant in the house, Chief Ikechi Emenike, to vacate the property because the contempt proceedings raised against Emenike in another court had no bearing on the judgment granting the possession of the property to the EFCC.

“Available facts showed that Emenike was paying rent on the property when it was under interim forfeiture.

“Though he had a tenancy agreement with Diezani, it is untrue that he had been paying rent to the EFCC for over 10 years.”

Oyewale also refuted claims that Emenike was granted the right of first refusal to buy the property.

He said Liman’s judgment of April 18, 2024, only granted such a right on the condition that the property was put up for sale.

“He was economical with the truths contained in the judgment of Justice Musa of April 18, 2024, where he clearly stated that Emenike should be allowed to ‘exercise the right of first refusal for the purchase of the said property whenever the Defendant announces or otherwise indicates that the property is to be disposed of; the disposal, however, to be at the prevailing market price to be determined by the Defendant upon a detailed valuation report from a reputable quantity surveyor,'” the EFCC spokesperson said.

“Till date, the Commission has not announced or indicated any readiness for the disposal of the property. Enenike’s right of first refusal can, therefore, not hold any water.”

He added that neither Ola Olukoyede, the EFCC chairman, nor Francis Usani, the commission’s counsel, had been served any contempt order.