By David Lawani, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, has ordered the final forfeiture of assets worth about ₦8.9 billion linked to businesswoman and socialite Aisha Achimugu to the Federal Government.
Justice Jude Onwugbuzie granted the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), holding that the anti-graft agency had established sufficient grounds to seize the assets as proceeds of unlawful activities permanently.
The forfeited assets include jewellery valued at ₦4.65 billion, 11 luxury vehicles estimated at ₦4.29 billion, $50,000 in cash and another ₦30 million recovered during investigations.
The ruling represents another major setback for Achimugu, who has been at the centre of several high-profile financial investigations by the EFCC in recent months.
The anti-graft agency had urged the court to make permanent an earlier interim forfeiture order, arguing that investigations linked the assets to unlawful activities.
Justice Onwugbuzie agreed with the commission’s submissions and ordered that all the listed properties be transferred permanently to the Federal Government.
The judgment comes barely four months after another Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to Achimugu and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited.
In that case, the court held that neither Achimugu nor her company successfully demonstrated how the funds were legitimately earned.
The court also dismissed claims that the money represented gifts or proceeds from oil and gas transactions.
“The burden to establish genuine ownership of the money was not discharged.”
The $13 million case stemmed from EFCC investigations into the acquisition of oil blocks using funds allegedly derived from unlawful activities.
Investigators alleged that Oceangate Engineering deployed funds of questionable origin to participate in the acquisition of petroleum prospecting licences.
The anti-graft agency has maintained that the transactions failed to meet legal requirements regarding the source of funds and beneficial ownership.
Thursday’s ruling, therefore, adds to a growing list of assets and funds already lost through civil forfeiture proceedings linked to the businesswoman and her companies.
The EFCC has consistently argued that civil forfeiture proceedings are aimed at depriving suspects of the proceeds of crime irrespective of whether criminal convictions have been secured.
The latest judgment is expected to intensify public scrutiny of ongoing investigations into Achimugu’s business interests and financial transactions.
