A Federal High Court Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited, after ruling that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission successfully established that the money lacked a legitimate origin and was tied to fraudulent transactions.
Court Rejects Ownership Claims
The ruling followed a suit filed by the EFCC challenging the ownership of the funds and seeking their permanent forfeiture to the Federal Government.
Justice Nwite ruled that Oceangate failed to provide convincing evidence to show that the $13 million came from lawful business activities.
The court dismissed the company’s argument that part of the money represented gifts allegedly received by Achimugu, noting that she neither appeared before the court nor presented supporting witnesses to validate the claim.
The judge also pointed out that none of the alleged donors appeared in court to testify.
The court held that no business transactions, customer payments, or financial records were produced to justify how the company generated the funds.
According to the judgment, the burden of proving lawful ownership rested on the company — a burden the court said was not discharged.
Earlier Interim Forfeiture Confirmed
The court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on August 22, 2025, directing the EFCC to publish the notice and invite interested parties to show cause within 14 days why the money should not be permanently forfeited.
Following that process, the court ruled that no credible evidence had emerged to overturn the interim order.
EFCC Links Funds to Oil Block Payments
In an affidavit filed before the court, EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu said the commission acted on intelligence suggesting that Oceangate used suspicious funds to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
According to the commission, the $13 million was used to pay signature bonuses for oil assets identified as PPL 302 and PPL 3007.
The EFCC maintained that the funds did not originate from any verifiable business operation.
Investigators further alleged that part of the money came from funds initially transferred by a state government to contractors handling public projects, but later diverted to Oceangate despite no contractual link between the parties.
EFCC Questions Company Structure
The anti-graft agency also challenged the credibility of Iliya Wakil, who deposed to an affidavit on behalf of the company.
According to the EFCC, Wakil is merely a nominal director without shareholding and is employed by Felak Concept Group Limited, another company associated with Achimugu.
Investigators said Wakil admitted acting strictly on Achimugu’s instructions.
In its filing, the EFCC described Oceangate as:
“A shell company created as a vehicle for holding petroleum assets procured with funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.”
The commission argued that the company’s description of itself as a major oil and gas consortium was misleading — a position ultimately accepted by the court.
Defence Fails
Oceangate had urged the court to reject the forfeiture request, insisting that the funds came partly from legitimate earnings and partly from personal gifts to Achimugu.
However, the court upheld the EFCC’s argument and granted final forfeiture of the funds.
The judgment marks another major victory for the anti-corruption agency in its ongoing efforts to recover assets suspected to be linked to financial crimes.
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