A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and her firm, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, to the Federal Government.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities, ruling in favour of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency had taken Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd to court over the ownership of the funds, which it alleged were tied to fraudulent dealings. In his ruling, Justice Nwite stated that the company failed to provide sufficient evidence explaining how the money was legitimately acquired.
The court dismissed claims by the firm that the $13 million represented gifts to Achimugu, noting that neither the businesswoman nor any alleged donors appeared before the court to substantiate the claims.
Justice Nwite further held that no individual who purportedly made the gifts testified, adding that the burden of proving the legitimacy of the funds was not discharged by the applicant.
The judge also observed that the company failed to demonstrate any business activity or transactions that could have generated such funds, nor did it provide evidence of payments from customers.
The ruling followed an earlier interim forfeiture order granted on August 22, 2025, in which the court directed the EFCC to publish a notice inviting interested parties to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
In its submission, the EFCC, through an affidavit deposed to by investigator Usman Aliyu, said the commission acted on intelligence indicating that Oceangate Engineering acquired oil blocks without due process using funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
According to the EFCC, the $13 million was used to pay signature bonuses for oil blocks PPL 302 and PPL 3007, and did not originate from legitimate business operations.
The commission further alleged that part of the funds came from public money transferred by contractors working for a state government, despite the absence of any contractual relationship between the contractors and Oceangate.
Aliyu also challenged the credibility of Oceangate’s affidavit, stating that it was sworn by a nominal director, Iliya Wakil, who allegedly had no shareholding in the company and was instead an employee of another firm owned by Achimugu.
He added that Wakil admitted to receiving instructions directly from Achimugu and had no record of being paid by Oceangate.
The EFCC described Oceangate as a shell company allegedly used to acquire petroleum assets with illicit funds, urging the court to dismiss the company’s claims.
Justice Nwite subsequently ruled that the EFCC had sufficiently proven its case, leading to the final forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Government.
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