Court Orders Final Forfeiture of $13m Linked to Aisha Achimugu’s Company

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court in Abuja, has ordered the final forfeiture of the sum of $13 million linked to a firm, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, owned by Lagos socialite, Mrs. Aisha Achimugu.

The judge made the order on the grounds that neither Oceangate nor Achimugu was able to prove that the money was legitimately earned.

He subsequently ordered that the funds traced, found and recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission Commission (NUPRC)’s account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) be forfeited to the federal government, having been reasonably suspected to be proceed of unlawful activities.

The order of the court was made during a ruling in a motion for final forfeiture of the said funds by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In arriving at his decision, Nwite dismissed claims by Oceangate’s lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, that the $13 million came from gifts to Achimugu and earnings from gas and oil-related contracts.

The court also disagreed it lacked jurisdiction to have granted the interim forfeiture order made on August 22, 2025, while the court sat as a vacation court.

According to the judge, the respondent/applicant (Oceangate) failed to demonstrate before the court how Oceangate was able to earn the funds sought to be forfeited.

“All that is contained in the affidavit to show cause before this honourable court are mere insinuations that the said sums are proceeds from gift and earnings from oil and gas-related contracts.

“The interested party herein has not shown the particulars of the individuals who gave this huge and mind-blowing gifts.

“In any event, the said Aisha Achimugu, who purportedly received these gifts, had not shown cause before this honourable court while these sums should not be forfeited.

The judge however agreed with the submission of the EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, that relevant laws, including Order 46(5) of the FHC, Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2006, and others, were complied with in granting the order.

“In the final analysis, I am of the view and I so hold that the respondent applicant (Oceangate) had not discharged the legal obligation placed on it to show to this honourable court the legitimacy of the funds sought to be forfeited and appplicant/respondent (EFCC) had satisfied the requirements for the grant of its application for final forfeiture.

“Consequently, I made the following orders: I hereby made final forfeiture order forfeiting to the Federal Government of Nigeria the sum of 13 million United States of American dollars traced, found and recovered from Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission Commission’s account domiciled with the Centtral Bank of Nigeria which sum is reasonably suspected to be proceed of unlawful activities.”

Recall that Justice Nwite had, on August 22, 2025, issued an order of interim forfeiture of the said sum over allegations that the fund was a proceed of unlawful activity.

The judge had also directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national daily for interested person(s) to show cause within 14 days why the fund would not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.

In an affidavit deposed to by Usman Aliyu, an investigation officer with the anti-graft agency, the applicant claimed it received a credible intelligence report alleging that a company known as Oceangate Engineering Limited, without following due process, used funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity to acquire oil blocks from NUPRC.

Aliyu said their investigation revealed that Oceangate, a limited liability company, was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on February 25, 2005 with number: RC 617736.

He said in 2024, Oceangate participated in an oil block licensing bid for Deep Offshore PPL302 and Shallow Water – PPL 3007, adding that upon completion of technical and commercial bid, NUPRC notified the company of its winning bidder status and the condition precedent to be fulfilled before issuance of a licence to the company.

Aliyu said it was discovered the total financial obligations of Oceangate Ltd to the government before the issuance of the Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) to the company was $37, 223,144.00.

He said the company, through its Zenith Bank account number: 5074678281, at different installments, transferred millions of dollars to the federal government, including $1.1 million, $1.1 million, $3.8 million, $1.2 million, $3.05 million, $2.1 million, and $500, 000.

The investigator said that on March 27 and 28, 2025, Providus Bank Limited, acting for and on behalf of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, transferred the total sum of $7 million to the federal government.

He said his team recovered the evidence of these transactions through Providus Bank Limited from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) vide a letter dated June 24, 2025.

He said the company between March 20, 2025 and April 3, 2025, paid the total sum of $20 million to the federal government for the acquisition of the PPL 302 and PPL 3007.

The officer alleged that to fulfil the requirements for payments of the signature bonuses for PPL 302 and PPL 3007, Oceangate conspired with some unlicensed Bureau de Change (BDC) operators and bank officials to retain and transfer funds totaling $13 million which funds are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

“That one Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma was procured and aided by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to collect through his associates in cash and without going through a financial institution, both in Abuja and Lagos the total sum of $13,000,000.00.

“That whilst acting in concert with Oceangate Limited, Muhammed Chiroma engaged one Dantani Abubakar Hassan of Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited and one Tirmizi Muhammed Usman of Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited, to collect the said $9 million in cash and without going through a financial Institution for the sole purpose of using same to pay for the signature bonuses of the two oil blocks allocated to Oceangate Oil and Gas Limited.”

He alleged the company equally procured Chiroma, Tirmizi Usman and Dantani Hassan to receive funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities from different contractors with the Lagos State Government.

He said the company received and retained funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity from different contractors with Lagos State, Dantani Abubakar used his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited, with account number 1229255048 domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc.

“That whilst still working in concert with Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited and Suleiman Chiroma, Dantani Abubakar used his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited with account Number 1907084038 domiciled in Access Bank Plc to receive and retain the total sum of N855, 057, 560.00 from different contractors executing contracts for and on behalf of the Lagos State Government which sum reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.”

He said the combined sum of N2, 455, 651, 560.00 received in both Zenith and Access Bank accounts of Ashrab Energy were converted to US dollars and subsequently transferred same to Oceangate’s Zenith Bank account for onward payment for the signature bonus of the two oil blocks; PPL 302 and PPL 3007 allocated to the company, among other averments.

Aliyu insisted the $13 million used by Oceangate to pay for the Signature Bonuses in respect of PPL302 and PPL3007 were not proceeds of any lawful and legitimate business of Oceangate but rather represent funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

According to him, part of the funds used by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to pay for the Signature bonuses in respect of PPL 302 & PPL 3007 was derived from the huge sum of money transferred by the Lagos State Government to the contractors for the execution of contracts for the benefit of the state.

The investigator alleged there were never any contractual or business relationships between Oceangate and the contractors who transferred the aforementioned public funds to the account of the company (Oceangate Engineering).

He said the contractors, who transferred the aforementioned public funds to Oceangate, were neither investors, directors, nor shareholders in Oceangate.

Aliyu who said he made the deposition in good faith said it would be in the interest of justice and public policy to grant the application.

But Oceangate, in its affidavit to show cause deposed to by one of the company’s directors, Iliya Wakil, said it came to his knowledge that the court made an order of interim forfeiture of the company’s $13 million used to pay for the signature bonuses of Deep Offshore PPL 302 and Shallow Water PPL 3007 between March 20, 2025 and April 3, 2025.

Wakil prayed the court not to make the order of final forfeiture of the funds because all the funds were derived partly from legitimate earnings of the company and partly gifts given to the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Company, Dr Aisha Achimugu.

He disagreed that the company conspired with any unregistered BDC operator and bank officials to retain and transfer the sum or any sum of money whatsoever which had anything to do with unlawful activity.

He argued that Suleiman Chiroma referred to by the EFCC, in its application for interim forfeiture, is a licensed BDC agent engaged lawfully by the company to help it source the US dollars needed by the company to settle the signature bonuses of PPL 302 and PPL 3007 oil blocks respectively as same was required to be paid in dollars by the Nigerian government.

He stated that Chiroma acted fully independently and without any form of control by Oceangate Limited.

The director said the company did not know Dantani Hassan or the company known as Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited.

Besides, he said Oceangate did not know one Tirmizi Usman and Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited, adding that the company had never met, dealt with or transacted with any of the persons stated in paragraphs 15 and 16 of the EFCC’s affidavit in any manner and for any reason whatsoever.

He said Oceangate only relied fully and depended on the avowed expertise of Chiroma, a licensed: BDC agent and believed that he followed the due process to source all the funds remitted to the company for the purpose of settling the signature bonuses as stated.

He said the entire naira swapped for the dollars came from legitimate sources, attaching the audited accounts of the company as exhibits.

Oceangate, in a motion on notice filed with the affidavit to show cause, sought an order setting aside the order of interim forfeiture of the $13 million which it claimed belong to it.

The company argued that the order was made by the court without requisite jurisdiction and against the principle of fair hearing.