Court Delivers Final Verdict: $13 Million Forfeited from Lagos Socialite's Company
Abuja, Nigeria – In a landmark ruling, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to prominent Lagos socialite, Ms. Aisha Achimugu, and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited. The court's decision concludes a rigorous legal battle initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which successfully argued that the substantial sum was derived from fraudulent and unlawful activities.
Justice Emeka Nwite, delivering the judgment, meticulously outlined how the EFCC had presented overwhelming evidence establishing the illicit origin of the funds. The court noted that neither Ms. Achimugu nor Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited could legitimately account for how the money was acquired, failing to counter the EFCC's compelling evidence.
Court Dismisses 'Gift' Claims as Untenable
Justice Nwite emphatically dismissed claims by Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited that the $13 million represented an accumulation of gifts received by Ms. Achimugu. The court highlighted significant evidentiary gaps in the company's defense:
- Ms. Achimugu, identified as the recipient of the alleged gifts, failed to appear in court to demonstrate the legitimacy of the funds.
- None of the individuals purported to have offered these monetary gifts were called to testify before the court, undermining the credibility of the claim.
- The company could not demonstrate any legitimate business activities that could have generated such a significant sum, nor did it provide evidence of customer payments.
Consequently, the court found that Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited had failed to discharge its legal burden of proving genuine ownership, paving the way for the funds to be forfeited to the Federal Government.
EFCC's Investigation: Tracing the Illicit Trail
The journey to this final forfeiture began on August 22, 2025, when Justice Nwite issued an interim order for the temporary seizure of the funds. The order also mandated the EFCC to publicly invite anyone with an interest in the money to show cause why it should not be permanently forfeited as proceeds of fraud. Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited subsequently filed an application, insisting the money was legitimately theirs, stemming from company earnings and gifts to Ms. Achimugu.
Unveiling the Oil Bloc Acquisition Scheme
According to an affidavit deposed by EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu, the anti-graft agency received credible intelligence that Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited had, without due process, utilized funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities to acquire oil blocs from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The investigation revealed that the company, registered on February 25, 2005, participated in a 2024 oil bloc licensing bid for deep offshore PPL302 and shallow water- PPL 3007. Upon being declared a winning bidder, NUPRC outlined conditions precedent for license issuance, totaling a financial obligation of $37,223,144.
The company made several dollar transfers to the Federal Government through its Zenith Bank account (number 5074678281), including tranches of:
- $1.1 million
- $1.1 million
- $3.8 million
- $1.2 million
- $3.05 million
- $2.1 million
- $500,000
Furthermore, between March 27 and 28, 2025, Providus Bank Limited, acting on behalf of Oceangate, transferred an additional $7 million to the Federal Government. The EFCC recovered evidence of these transactions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), dated June 24, 2025.
The Alleged $13 Million Conspiracy
Crucially, the EFCC averred that to fulfill signature bonus requirements for PPL 302 and PPL 3007, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited conspired with unlicensed Bureau de Change (BDC) operators and bank officials to retain and transfer $13 million. These funds, the EFCC insisted, were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
The investigation detailed how:
- Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma was allegedly procured by Oceangate to collect $13 million in cash, without financial institution involvement, across Abuja and Lagos.
- Chiroma, in concert with Oceangate, engaged Dantani Abubakar Hassan of Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited and Tirmizi Muhammed Usman of Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited to collect $9 million in cash for oil bloc signature bonuses.
- Oceangate also allegedly procured Chiroma, Tirmizi Usman, and Dantani Hassan to receive funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities from various contractors working with the Lagos State Government.
Specifically, Dantani Abubakar's company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited, with Zenith Bank account number 1229255048 and Access Bank account number 1907084038, allegedly received and retained N855,057,560.00 from different Lagos State Government contractors. This combined sum of N2,455,651,560.00, received across both accounts, was reportedly converted to US dollars and subsequently transferred to Oceangate's Zenith Bank account for the payment of signature bonuses for PPL 302 and PPL 3007.
Investigator Aliyu concluded that the $13 million used for the signature bonuses was not from any lawful and legitimate business, but rather represented proceeds of unlawful activity.
Oceangate's Counter-Affidavit and Denial
In its defense, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited, through an affidavit deposed by its director Iliya Wakil, urged the court against a final forfeiture. The company maintained that the funds were derived partly from its legitimate earnings and partly from gifts given to its Group Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Achimugu. It explicitly denied the EFCC's allegations of conspiring with unregistered BDC operators or bank officials to retain or transfer illicit funds.
Despite the company's assertions, the court found the EFCC's evidence compelling and the defense lacking, leading to the final forfeiture order.