Court orders Aisha Achimugu to honour EFCC invitation

Justice I. Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja, has ordered a Lagos socialite, Aisha Achimugu, to appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, today to answer questions regarding an ongoing investigation.

The judge also directed that she must appear before the court on April 30, 2025.

The order was made in a ruling delivered, yesterday, in respect of a suit filed by Achimugu against several law enforcement agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force; Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC; Department of State Services, DSS; EFCC; Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC and Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS.

The case continues tomorrow with Achimugu expected to report to the EFCC today as directed by the court.

In its response to Achimugu’s suit, EFCC’s counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, informed the court of a counter-affidavit deposed to by one of its investigators, Chris Odofin, outlining the circumstances leading to her invitation.

In the affidavit, Odofin disclosed that Achimugu was 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.

Achimugu had initially honoured the commission’s invitation on February 12, 2024, during which she made a written statement and was subsequently granted administrative bail through her lawyer and surety, Darlington Ozurumba.
However, she allegedly failed to report back as agreed, choosing instead to file a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the commission.

The affidavit further claimed that Achimugu, in her statement, explained the inflow of N8.71 billion into her corporate bank accounts as an “ investment fund” for the acquisition of an oil block.

She claimed the funds were transferred to the Federal Government’s account through her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, referencing documentation from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.

It said further investigation in the affidavit, however, indicated that Achimugu’s company actually acquired two oil blocks, Shallow Water PPL 3007 and Deep Offshore PPL 302-DO at the cost of $25.3 million and investigations showed that the payments were allegedly made in cash via bureau de change operators and that the ultimate sources of the funds could not be traced to any legitimate business income or partnerships.

Following the dismissal of the earlier suit, EFCC said it continued its investigation by dispatching inquiry letters to various banks and the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, the Federal Inland Revenue Services, Land Authorities, Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, Central Bank of Nigeria to gather more evidence. As more responses were received, the team analysed them while further responses are being awaited

The affidavit also shows the applicant operates a total of 136 bank accounts across 10 different banks both in her personal and corporate names.