A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered Aisha Achimugu, to appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This comes barely a month after the EFCC declared the businesswoman wanted for failing to honour its invitation in an investigation into alleged criminal conspiracy and money laundering.
Justice I.E. Ekwo, who gave the order in a ruling delivered on Monday, directed Achimugu to appear before the anti-graft agency on Tuesday and before the court on Wednesday.
The ruling was delivered in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/626/2025, filed by Achimugu against several law enforcement agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the State Security Service (SSS), the EFCC, the Nigeria Security, Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).
The Octopus News had earlier reported that Achimugu failed to honour the invitation of the EFCC.
EFCC’s counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, while responding to Achimugu’s application on Monday, told the court that a counter-affidavit was deposed by one of its investigators, Chris Odofin, detailing the reasons and circumstances leading to her invitation.
The anti-graft agency said 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 N. Ozurumba.
However, the commission noted she allegedly failed to report back as agreed, choosing instead to file a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the commission.
The woman, in her application, explained the inflow of N8.71 billion into her corporate bank accounts as an “investment fund” for the acquisition of an oil block.
She further 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).
According to the commission’s counter-affidavit, investigation showed 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. The payments were allegedly made in cash via bureau de change operators, adding that the ultimate sources of the funds could not be traced to any legitimate business income or partnerships.
The anti-graft agency further noted that Achimugu’s current suit is a calculated attempt to frustrate the ongoing investigation, despite a previous court decision in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/451/2024 dismissing her claim of fundamental rights violations.
The agency also discovered that the applicant operates a total of one hundred and thirty-six (136) bank accounts across ten different banks both in her personal and corporate names.
The case was scheduled to continue on Wednesday when Achimugu is expected to report to the EFCC on Tuesday based on the latest court order.
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