The Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled March 25 to rule on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) application for the final forfeiture of $13 million connected to Aisha Achimugu’s Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.
Justice Emeka Nwite set the date following the presentation of arguments by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, EFCC’s counsel, and Darlington Ozurumba company’s lawyer at the hearing on Tuesday.
Justice Nwite had, on August 22, 2025, granted the EFCC an ex parte interim forfeiture order for $13 million linked to Oceangate, citing suspicions that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activity.
The court also directed the EFCC to publish the order in a national newspaper, allowing interested parties 14 days to challenge why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
Usman Aliyu, EFCC investigator, said the commission received a report suggesting that Oceangate used funds suspected to be illegal to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) without following proper procedures.
Investigations showed that Oceangate, registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on February 25, 2005 (RC 617736), participated in bidding for deep offshore PPL 302 and shallow water PPL 3007 in 2024.
After completing technical and commercial evaluations, NUPRC notified the company of its winning bidder status and the financial obligations required before license issuance.
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The total sum Oceangate owed the government before receiving the Petroleum Prospecting Licenses (PPLs) was $37,223,144. Between March 20 and April 3, 2025, the company transferred $20 million to the Federal Government through its Zenith Bank account, including instalments of $1.1 million, $3.8 million, $1.2 million, $3.05 million, $2.1 million, and $500,000. Providus Bank also transferred $7 million on behalf of the company on March 27–28, 2025, verified through a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) letter dated June 24, 2025.
Aliyu alleged that to meet the signature bonus requirements for PPL 302 and PPL 3007, Oceangate conspired with unlicensed Bureau de Change (BDC) operators and bank officials to transfer $13 million, suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
He said Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma, acting with the company’s direction, collected the money in cash in Abuja and Lagos. Chiroma allegedly worked with Dantani Abubakar Hassan of Ashrab Energy and Tirmizi Muhammed Usman of Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited to transfer $9 million in cash for the signature bonuses.
Aliyu also said Oceangate used these individuals to receive additional funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity from contractors working with the Lagos State Government. Dantani Abubakar allegedly used company accounts at Zenith and Access Bank to hold N2,455,651,560, which were converted to dollars and sent to Oceangate’s Zenith Bank account to pay the signature bonuses.
The investigator stated that the $13 million did not come from any legitimate business revenue of Oceangate and included funds originating from Lagos State Government payments to contractors who had no contractual relationship with the company.
Oceangate, through director Iliya Wakil, said in an affidavit that the $13 million included legitimate company earnings and personal gifts to CEO Aisha Achimugu.
The company denied any conspiracy with unregistered BDC operators or bank officials and said Chiroma, a licensed BDC agent, acted independently to source the dollars required by the government.
The company also said it had no dealings with Dantani Hassan, Ashrab Energy, Tirmizi Usman, or Triple A & Tee Oil, and all funds were legally sourced. Oceangate attached audited accounts to support its claims. In a motion seeking to overturn the interim forfeiture, the company argued that the court lacked jurisdiction and violated the principle of fair hearing.
EFCC, in its reply, asked the court to dismiss Oceangate’s claims. Aliyu said Wakil was only a nominal director with no shareholding and was employed by Felak Concept Group Limited, also owned by Achimugu. He described Oceangate as a shell company used to hold petroleum assets purchased with funds suspected to be illicit.
Aliyu said Oceangate had not conducted oil and gas operations, and the audit report by Godwin Ukah relied on a memorandum of understanding rather than financial records. Achimugu admitted having control of the company, which currently does not execute contracts in the public or private sector.
EFCC argued that the $13 million should be forfeited to the Federal Government because it was suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity. Previously, on September 15, 2025, Justice Nwite ordered the final forfeiture of $7 million lodged at Providus Bank, Ikoyi, Lagos, after no one claimed the funds. Felak Concept Group Limited later denied any involvement of its CEO or its subsidiary, Oceangate, in the disputed $7 million transaction.
