Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million to the Federal Government, funds linked to Lagos socialite Aisha Achimugu and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Nwite held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully established that the funds were proceeds of fraud and unlawful activities. The judge dismissed claims by Oceangate and Achimugu that the $13 million represented gifts or legitimate earnings, noting that the company failed to provide evidence of business activities generating the money.
Investigations revealed that between March 20 and April 3, 2025, Oceangate paid $20 million to the Federal Government for the acquisition of petroleum prospecting licenses PPL 302 and PPL 3007. However, $13 million of the funds were allegedly retained and transferred through unlicensed Bureau de Change operators and intermediaries, including Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma, Dantani Abubakar Hassan, and Tirmizi Muhammed Usman, without proper financial institutional channels.
EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu stated that evidence showed these funds were derived partly from public contracts executed for the Lagos State Government, with no formal contractual relationship with Oceangate. He described the company as a “briefcase/shell company” used to acquire petroleum-related assets with tainted funds.
Oceangate and its director, Iliya Wakil, had argued that all funds were either legitimate company earnings or gifts to Achimugu and that Chiroma was a licensed BDC agent acting independently. However, EFCC countered that Wakil, a nominal director with no shareholding, acted under Achimugu’s instructions, and audit reports provided were not based on actual financial records.
Justice Nwite’s ruling follows an earlier interim forfeiture order granted in August 2025, with similar action previously taken for a $7 million sum lodged in Providus Bank, Lagos, which was also forfeited to the Federal Government after no party claimed ownership.
The judgment reinforces the government’s stance on recovering assets reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity and underscores the EFCC’s investigative efforts in combating financial crimes in Nigeria.
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