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 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), which had sought the forfeiture.
The EFCC had dragged Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd before the court over the ownership of the funds, arguing that the $13 million was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of fraud. The company, however, instituted a suit to reclaim the money, claiming it was derived from legitimate business activities and gifts to its Group Chief Executive Officer, Aisha Achimugu.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite said the company failed to establish the legitimate source of the funds. He noted that Achimugu did not appear in court to show cause why the money should not be forfeited, and no individual was presented to substantiate claims that the funds were gifts.
“The burden to establish genuine ownership of the money was not discharged,” the judge ruled, adding that Oceangate failed to provide evidence of business transactions or payments from clients that could justify the funds.
The court also upheld the EFCC’s position that the funds were linked to fraudulent activities based on its investigation.
Justice Nwite recalled that an interim forfeiture order had earlier been granted on August 22, 2025, directing the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper for interested parties to contest within 14 days. No sufficient evidence was subsequently presented to overturn the interim order.
In an affidavit filed by EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu, the commission stated that the funds were used by Oceangate to acquire oil blocks—PPL 302 and PPL 3007—from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), allegedly without due process.
Aliyu further alleged that part of the funds originated from public money transferred by a state government to contractors, who in turn remitted the funds to Oceangate without any contractual relationship.
He described Oceangate as a shell company used to hold petroleum assets acquired with illicit funds, alleging that its operations involved acquiring oil assets with “tainted funds.”
The EFCC also challenged the credibility of Iliya Wakil, who deposed to an affidavit on behalf of the company, describing him as a nominal director without shareholding and an employee of another company linked to Achimugu.
According to the commission, Wakil admitted in a statement that he received instructions directly from Achimugu and did not earn a salary from Oceangate.
Based on the evidence presented, the court dismissed Oceangate’s claims and granted the final forfeiture of the $13 million to the Federal Government.