Court Orders Final Forfeiture of Aisha Achimugu’s Assets Worth Over N8.9 Billion to Federal Government

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, has ordered the final forfeiture of assets valued at more than N8.9 billion linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu, handing them over to the Federal Government.

The ruling, delivered on Thursday, July 16, 2026, followed an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which argued that the properties were connected to proceeds of unlawful activities.

Justice Jude Onwugbuzie granted the final forfeiture order, covering luxury jewellery worth N4.645 billion, 11 exotic vehicles valued at approximately N4.293 billion, $50,000 in cash, and N30 million.

The judgment marks another significant legal victory for the EFCC in its ongoing investigations involving Achimugu and follows an earlier forfeiture order issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In March 2026, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered the permanent forfeiture of $13 million linked to Achimugu after ruling that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities. The decision came after Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited sought to reclaim the money, claiming it belonged to the company.

However, the court held that the company failed to provide sufficient evidence proving the legitimate origin of the funds.

According to the judgment, Oceangate argued that the money consisted of gifts allegedly made to Achimugu. The court, however, noted that neither the purported donors nor Achimugu appeared before the court to support the claim with credible evidence.

Justice Nwite ruled that the burden of proof had not been met, stating that no verifiable business transactions or legitimate sources of income were presented to justify ownership of the funds.

The court subsequently held that the EFCC had established that the money constituted proceeds of unlawful activities and ordered its permanent forfeiture to the Federal Government.

The $13 million had initially been placed under an interim forfeiture order in August 2025 after the EFCC alleged that the funds were connected to suspicious financial transactions related to the acquisition of oil blocks.

Following the interim order, the commission published public notices inviting anyone with an interest in the funds to appear before the court and explain why the money should not be permanently forfeited.

According to an affidavit filed by EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu, investigations linked Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to financial transactions involving the acquisition of Oil Prospecting Licences PPL 302 and PPL 3007, with total commitments reportedly exceeding $37 million.

The anti-graft agency alleged that portions of the funds, including the disputed $13 million, were sourced through unlicensed Bureau de Change operators and cash transactions conducted outside Nigeria’s regulated banking system.

The EFCC further claimed that intermediaries were used to collect millions of dollars in cash across Abuja and Lagos before the funds were deposited into Oceangate’s accounts.

Investigators also alleged that part of the money originated from payments made by contractors linked to the Lagos State Government, despite what the commission described as the absence of any contractual relationship between those contractors and Oceangate.

With the latest ruling by the FCT High Court, the Federal Government has now secured the permanent forfeiture of additional high-value assets allegedly connected to the ongoing investigation.

The case remains one of the EFCC’s most prominent asset recovery proceedings, reflecting the agency’s continued efforts to trace, recover, and forfeit assets believed to have been acquired through illicit financial activities in accordance with Nigerian law.