COURT GRANTS FINAL FORFEITURE OF $13M LINKED TO ACHIMUGU’S FIRM TO GOVERNMENT

Abuja, FCT | March 25, 2026

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has granted an order of final forfeiture of the sum of $13 million linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The order followed a legal action initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning the ownership of the funds suspected to be proceeds of fraud and unlawful activities.

Delivering judgment in a suit instituted by Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd to claim the funds, Justice Nwite held that the company failed to establish how it legitimately acquired the $13 million. He ruled that the EFCC had successfully demonstrated that the funds were proceeds of fraud and should be forfeited to the government.

The court dismissed claims that the money represented gifts received by Achimugu, noting that she did not appear before the court to justify why the funds should not be permanently forfeited. The judge further observed that none of the alleged donors of the $13 million was presented to testify in support of the claim.

Justice Nwite also held that the burden of proving genuine ownership of the funds was not discharged by the applicant, adding that the company failed to provide evidence of any business transactions or payments from clients that could justify the sum in question.

The court recalled that on August 22, 2025, an interim forfeiture order had been granted, with a directive for the EFCC to publish the order in a national daily, inviting interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.

In support of the forfeiture application, EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu stated in an affidavit that the Commission acted on intelligence indicating that Oceangate Engineering Limited utilized funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Aliyu further deposed that the $13 million used by the company to pay signature bonuses for PPL 302 and PPL 3007 did not originate from any legitimate business activity but were linked to funds transferred by contractors handling projects for a state government. He alleged that there were no contractual or business relationships between Oceangate and the contractors, who were neither investors, directors, nor shareholders in the company.

He also maintained that the transfers of public funds to Oceangate were irregular and unsupported by any lawful agreements, reinforcing the Commission’s position that the money constituted proceeds of unlawful activity.

In its defence, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd argued that the funds were derived partly from legitimate business earnings and partly from gifts given to its Group Chief Executive Officer, Aisha Achimugu, and urged the court to reject the final forfeiture request.

However, the EFCC countered the claims and urged the court to dismiss the application, a position upheld by the court in its final ruling.

The judgment reinforces the EFCC’s mandate to trace, recover, and ensure the forfeiture of proceeds of crime, while sending a strong message on the consequences of financial impropriety.