The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled a ruling for March 25 on an application submitted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking a final forfeiture order concerning $13 million associated with Aisha Achimugu’s Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.
Justice Emeka Nwite set this date on Tuesday following the adoption of processes and arguments presented by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, and the company’s lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, on Monday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Justice Nwite had previously granted the EFCC’s motion ex parte on August 22, 2025, for an interim forfeiture order pertaining to the $13 million linked to Oceangate Ltd, alleging that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The court instructed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper, allowing interested parties 14 days to contest the permanent forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Government.
EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu stated that credible intelligence indicated that Oceangate Engineering Limited acquired oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) using funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity without following due process.
Aliyu detailed that Oceangate was registered as a limited liability company with the Corporate Affairs Commission on February 25, 2005, under registration number RC 617736. In 2024, the company participated in a licensing bid for deep offshore PPL302 and shallow water PPL3007. Following the bid, NUPRC notified Oceangate of its winning status and the requisite conditions for obtaining a licence.
He revealed that the total financial obligations for Oceangate Ltd amounted to $37,223,144.00. The company made several payments to the Federal Government via its Zenith Bank account, including transfers of $1.1 million, $3.8 million, and $7 million on March 27 and 28, 2025.
Aliyu alleged that to meet payment requirements for the signature bonuses for PPL302 and PPL3007, Oceangate collaborated with unlicensed Bureau de Change (BDC) operators and bank officials to retain and transfer $13 million suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
He claimed that Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma was involved in collecting the cash without going through financial institutions in Abuja and Lagos. Aliyu further alleged that Chiroma, alongside others, was procured to handle funds from contractors related to the Lagos State Government, which were also suspected to be from unlawful activities.
Oceangate, represented by director Iliya Wakil, contested the interim forfeiture order, asserting that the funds were derived from legitimate earnings and gifts to the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Dr Aisha Achimugu. Wakil denied any conspiracy with unregistered BDC operators and maintained that they followed due processes in sourcing the necessary funds.
The EFCC, in response, dismissed Oceangate’s claims, asserting that Wakil was merely a nominal director with no shareholding in the company and that he had been employed by a different company owned by Achimugu.
The EFCC argued that Oceangate was a “briefcase/shell company” used to acquire petroleum-related assets with tainted funds, emphasising that the $13 million forfeited was not from lawful income.
Aliyu further stated that the company’s financial audits were based on unreliable sources and that there was no evidence of legitimate business activities conducted by Oceangate.
The judge was urged to rule in favour of the forfeiture, given the funds’ suspected origins.
In a related matter, Justice Nwite had previously ordered the final forfeiture of $7 million in Providus Bank, which had not been claimed by anyone.
Felak Concept Group Limited later issued a statement distancing itself and its GCEO from the controversial transaction linked to the $7 million.
