The court dismissed the claims that the $13 million was gifts received by Aisha Achimugu, adding that she never came to the court to show cause why the huge fund should not be forfeited to the government.
Delivering judgment, Justice Nwite held that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) established that the foreign currency was proceeds of fraud and unlawful activities.
The judge further held that Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd failed to establish how it came by the money.
He said that the EFCC satisfied all requirements for the fund to be classified as proceeds of fraud and to be forfeited to the appropriate authority.
The judge dismissed the claims that the $13 million was gifts received into the Oceangate Engineering Company by Aisha Achimugu, adding that the said Aisha never came to the court to show cause on why the huge fund should not be forfeited to the government.
He held that no single person who gave the monetary gift to Aisha Achimugu to the tune of $13 million was called to testify.
The judge further held that the burden to establish genuine ownership of the money was not established by the applicant to counter the claims of the anti- graft agency that the money was the proceeds of fraud based on its investigation.
According to the judge, Oceangate Engineering Company did not show the business it undertook that fetched it the money, nor did not also show whether any payment was made to it by any of its customers.
Justice Nwite had, on 22 August 2025, granted the anti-graft agency’s motion ex parte for an interim order forfeiting the sum of $13 million linked to Oceangate Ltd to the Federal Government over allegations that the fund was proceeds of unlawful activity.
The judge had then directed the commission to publish the order in a national daily for interested people to show cause within 14 days why the fund should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
Alleged Acquisition Of Oil Blocks:
The EFCC investigator, Usman Aliyu, swore to an affidavit filed in support of the agency’s application, stating that the commission 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 the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Aliyu said their investigation revealed that Oceangate, a limited liability company, was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on 25 February 2005 with the number: RC 617736.
He said in 2024, Oceangate participated in an oil block licensing bid for deep offshore PPL302 and shallow water- PPL 3007.
He said upon completion of the 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 that the total financial obligations of Oceangate Ltd to the government before the issuance of the Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) to the company were $37.2 million ($37, 223,144).
He said the company, through its Zenith Bank account number: 5074678281, at different installments, transferred millions of dollars to the Federal Government, in tranches: $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) through a letter dated June 24,02025.
He said the company, between 20 March 2025 and 3 April 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 totalling $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,” the affidavit stated.
He alleged that 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.
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