Court Orders Final Forfeiture of $13m Linked to Aisha Achimugu, Oceangate
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and her firm, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, to the Federal Government.
The ruling followed a suit involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which challenged the ownership of the funds, alleging they were proceeds of fraud and unlawful activities.
Delivering judgment, Justice Nwite held that Oceangate Engineering failed to convincingly explain the source of the $13 million. He ruled that the EFCC had successfully established that the funds were illicit and should be permanently forfeited.
ALSO READ: Jay-Z Opens Up on Lawsuit Ordeal, Says He Felt “Uncontrollably Angry”
The court dismissed claims that the money represented gifts to Achimugu, noting that she did not appear before the court to justify the funds. The judge also observed that no individual alleged to have made such “gifts” testified during proceedings.
Justice Nwite further held that the company failed to demonstrate any legitimate business transactions that could have generated the funds, including the absence of evidence of payments from customers or verifiable commercial activities.
The forfeiture followed an earlier interim order granted on August 22, 2025, which directed the EFCC to publish notices inviting interested parties to show cause why the funds should not be permanently seized.
According to an affidavit by EFCC investigator, Usman Aliyu, the commission acted on intelligence suggesting that Oceangate used funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Aliyu stated that the $13 million was used to pay signature bonuses for oil assets, including PPL 302 and PPL 3007, and alleged that part of the funds originated from public money transferred by contractors without any legitimate business relationship with the company.
He further described Oceangate as a shell entity allegedly used to acquire petroleum assets with tainted funds, adding that its operations did not reflect legitimate commercial activity.
In its defence, Oceangate argued that the funds were derived from lawful business earnings and personal gifts to Achimugu. However, the EFCC urged the court to dismiss the claim, insisting the company failed to provide credible evidence.
The judgment marks a significant milestone in ongoing anti-corruption efforts, reinforcing the legal framework for recovering proceeds of crime and promoting accountability in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Court Orders Final Forfeiture of $13m Linked to Aisha Achimugu, Oceangate