Court Orders Final Forfeiture of $13m Linked to Achimugu’s Firm
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully established that the funds were proceeds of fraudulent activities.
The decision followed a suit filed by the EFCC challenging the ownership of the money. The commission maintained that the funds were derived from unlawful sources.
In his ruling, Nwite held that Oceangate failed to provide credible evidence to prove the legitimacy of the funds. He dismissed the company’s claim that the money consisted of gifts received by Achimugu, noting that she did not appear in court to substantiate the claim. He also pointed out that none of the alleged donors testified.
The court further observed that the company did not present any records of business transactions or customer payments that could justify the $13 million.
According to the judge, the burden of proving lawful ownership was not met.
The court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on August 22, 2025, directing the EFCC to publish a notice inviting interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
In an affidavit, EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu stated that the commission acted on intelligence suggesting that Oceangate used suspected illicit funds to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Aliyu said the money was used to pay signature bonuses for PPL 302 and PPL 3007, adding that the funds were not generated from legitimate business activities.
He also revealed that part of the funds originated from money transferred by a state government to contractors for public projects, but was later traced to Oceangate despite no contractual link.
The EFCC questioned the credibility of Iliya Wakil, who deposed to an affidavit on behalf of the company, describing him as a nominal director without shares. The commission added that Wakil is an employee of another company linked to Achimugu and does not receive a salary from Oceangate.
According to Aliyu, Wakil admitted acting on Achimugu’s instructions and relaying them to another individual.
He further described Oceangate as a shell company allegedly created to hold petroleum assets acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
However, the company urged the court to reject the forfeiture request, insisting the funds were partly from legitimate business operations and partly gifts.
The court dismissed the defence and granted the EFCC’s request for final forfeiture.
