By Rachel Akper

The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to Aisha Achimugu and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The ruling was delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite.

The decision follows a suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which argued that the funds were proceeds of alleged fraud and unlawful activities.

The court held that neither Achimugu nor any representative of her company provided sufficient evidence to prove the legitimacy of the funds.

Justice Nwite noted that the company failed to establish that the money was earned through genuine business operations, including earnings from oil and gas contracts in blocks PPL302 and PPL3007, as claimed by Oceangate.

The EFCC had earlier secured an interim forfeiture order in August 2025, freezing the funds and inviting any interested party to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited.

Following the court’s ruling, the $13 million will now be reclaimed by the Federal Government.

This ruling reinforces the government’s commitment to reclaiming assets suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity and underscores the burden on respondents in forfeiture cases to prove legitimate ownership.