Tuesday, April 29, 2025 - Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Aisha Achimugu to appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to respond to questions relating to an ongoing investigation.
The court also directed that she must appear before it on
Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
According to a statement by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale,
the ruling came in response to a suit filed by Achimugu against several law
enforcement agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Department
of State Services (DSS), the EFCC, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
(NSCDC), and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
During the proceedings, EFCC counsel Ekele Iheanacho
presented a counter-affidavit sworn by one of its investigators, Chris Odofin,
detailing the circumstances that led to Achimugu’s invitation. In the
affidavit, Odofin stated that Achimugu is under investigation for alleged
conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, money laundering, corruption,
and possession of property reasonably suspected to have been acquired through
unlawful means
The EFCC noted that Achimugu initially honoured its
invitation on February 12, 2024, during which she provided a written statement
and was granted administrative bail through her lawyer and surety, Darlington
N. Ozurumba. However, she allegedly failed to comply with the bail terms and
instead filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Commission.
According to the affidavit, Achimugu explained that an
inflow of N8.71 billion into her corporate bank accounts was an “investment
fund” for acquiring an oil block, claiming that the funds were transferred to a
Federal Government account through her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil and
Gas Limited, supported by documentation from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum
Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Further investigations, however, revealed that Oceangate
Engineering acquired two oil blocks, Shallow Water PPL 3007 and Deep Offshore
PPL 302-DO, at a combined cost of $25.3 million. The Commission alleged that
the payments were made in cash through bureau de change operators, and that the
ultimate sources of the funds could not be traced to any legitimate business or
partnerships. The EFCC also alleged that the acquisition process was marred by
corrupt practices and that neither oil block had commenced exploration or
production.
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