A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 13 million dollars linked to Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd, a company associated with businesswoman Aisha Achimugu. Justice Emeka Nwite granted the request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the money to be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite held that neither Oceangate Engineering nor Achimugu was able to prove that the 13 million dollars was legitimately earned. He said there was no credible evidence before the court to support their claim that the funds came from gifts and earnings from oil and gas contracts.
The judge rejected arguments by Oceangate’s lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, who had insisted that the money was lawfully acquired. Ozurumba had argued that the funds were derived from personal gifts to Achimugu and proceeds of genuine business transactions, but the court found these claims unsubstantiated.
Justice Nwite also dismissed the defence counsel’s contention that the court lacked jurisdiction to issue an interim forfeiture order while sitting as a vacation court on August 22, 2025. He agreed with EFCC lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo that the commission complied with relevant laws, including Order 46(5) of the Federal High Court Rules and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act 2006, in seeking the order.
He further described as baseless the claim that the EFCC acted as a meddlesome interloper because no individual or company had petitioned the commission about missing funds. The judge held that under Nigerian law, the EFCC is empowered to act on intelligence and investigate suspicious assets even without a specific complaint from a victim.
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