A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Monday, fixed March 25 to deliver ruling on an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the final forfeiture order on the $13 million linked to Aisha Achimugu’s Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.

The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, fixed the date after counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, and counsel for the company, Darlington Ozurumba, adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the case on Monday.

Justice Nwite had, on August 22, 2025, granted the EFCC’s motion ex-parte for an interim order forfeiting the sum of $13 million linked to Oceangate Ltd to the Federal Government over allegations that the fund was proceeds of unlawful activity.

The judge then directed the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national daily for interested person (s) to show cause, within 14 days, why the fund should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

In an affidavit in support of the motion, the EFCC’s investigator, Usman Aliyu, deposed that the Commission received a credible intelligence report alleging that a company, known as Oceangate Engineering Limited, without following due process, used funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

Aliyu said their investigation revealed that Oceangate, a limited liability company, was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on February 25, 2005, with RC 617736 as registration number.

He said in 2024, Oceangate participated in an oil block licensing bid for deep offshore PPL302 and shallow water- PPL 3007 and that, upon completion of the technical and commercial bid, NUPRC notified the company of its winning bidder status and the condition precedent to be fulfilled before issuance of a licence to the company.

Aliyu said, it was discovered that the total financial obligations of Oceangate Ltd to the government before the issuance of the Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) to the company was $37, 223,144.00 and added that, the company, through its Zenith Bank account number: 5074678281, at different installments, transfered millions of dollars to the Federal Government, including $1.1 million, $1.1 million, $3.8 million, $1.2 million, $3.05 million, $2.1 million, and $500, 000.

The investigator said, on March 27 and 28, 2025, Providus Bank Limited, acting for and on behalf of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, transferred the total sum of $7 million to the Federal Government.

He said his team recovered the evidence of these transactions through Providus Bank Limited from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) vide a letter dated June 24, 2025.

He said the company, between March 20, 2025 and April 3, 2025, paid the total sum of $20 million to the Federal Government for the acquisition of the PPL 302 and PPL 3007.

The officer alleged that, to fulfil the requirements for payments of the signature bonuses for PPL 302 and PPL 3007, Oceangate conspired with some unlicensed Bureau de Change (BDC) operators and bank officials to retain and transfer funds totalling $13 million, which funds are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

“That one Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma was procured and aided by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to collect through his associates in cash and without going through a financial institution, both in Abuja and Lagos, the total sum of $13,000,000.00.

“That whilst acting in concert with Oceangate Limited, Muhammed Chiroma engaged one, Dantani Abubakar Hassan of Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited and one Tirmizi Muhammed Usman of Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited, to collect the said $9 million in cash and without going through a financial Institution for the sole purpose of using same to pay for the signature bonuses of the two oil blocks allocated to Oceangate Oil and Gas Limited.”

He alleged that the company equally procured Chiroma, Tirmizi Usman and Dantani Hassan to receive funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities from different contractors with the Lagos State Government.

He said to receive and retain funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity from different contractors with Lagos State, Dantani Abubakar used his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited, with account number 1229255048 domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc.

“That whilst still working in concert with Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited and Suleiman Chiroma, Dantani Abubakar used his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited with account Number 1907084038 domiciled in Access Bank Plc to receive and retain the total sum of N855, 057, 560.00 from different contractors executing contracts for and on behalf of the Lagos State Government which sum reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.”

He said the combined sum of N2, 455, 651, 560.00 received in both Zenith and Access Bank accounts of Ashrab Energy were converted to US dollars and subsequently transferred to Oceangate’s Zenith Bank account for onward payment for the signature bonus of the two oil blocks, PPL 302 and PPL 3007 allocated to the company, among other averments.

Aliyu insisted that the $13 million used by Oceangate to pay for the Signature Bonuses in respect of PPL302 and PPL3007 were not proceeds of any lawful and legitimate business of Oceangate but rather represent funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

According to him, part of the funds used by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to pay for the Signature bonuses in respect of PPL 302 & PPL 3007 was derived from the huge sum of money transferred by the Lagos State Government to the contractors for the execution of contracts for the benefit of the state.

The investigator alleged that there were never any contractual or business relationships between Oceangate and the contractors who transferred the aforementioned public funds to the account of the company (Oceangate Engineering).

He said the contractors, who transferred the aforementioned public funds to Oceangate, were neither investors, directors, nor shareholders in Oceangate.

Aliyu, who said he made the deposition in good faith, said it would be in the interest of justice and public policy to grant the application.

But Oceangate, in its affidavit to show cause deposed to by one of the company’s directors, Iliya Wakil, said it came to his knowledge that the court made an order of interim forfeiture of the company’s $13 million used to pay for the signature bonuses of Deep Offshore PPL 302 and Shallow Water PPL 3007 between March 20, 2025 and April 3, 2025.

Wakil prayed the court not to make the order of final forfeiture of the funds because all the funds were derived partly from legitimate earnings of the company and partly gifts given to the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Company, Dr Aisha Achimugu.

He disagreed that the company did not conspire with any unregistered BDC operator and bank officials to retain and transfer the sum or any sum of money whatsoever, which had anything to do with unlawful activity.

He argued that Suleiman Chiroma, referred to by the EFCC, in its application for interim forfeiture, is a licensed BDC agent engaged lawfully by the company to help it source the US dollars needed by the company to settle the signature bonuses of PPL 302 and PPL 3007 oil blocks, respectively as the same was required to be paid in dollars by the Nigerian Government.

He stated that Chiroma acted fully independently and without any form of control by Oceangate Limited and that the company did not know Dantani Hassan or the company known as Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited.

Besides, he said Oceangate did not know one Tirmizi Usman and Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited, adding that the company had never met, dealt with or transacted with any of the persons stated in paragraphs 15 and 16 of the EFCC’s affidavit in any manner and for any reason whatsoever.

He said Oceangate only relied fully and depended on the avowed expertise of Chiroma, a licensed BDC agent and believed that he followed the due process to source all the funds remitted to the company for the purpose of settling the signature bonuses as stated.

He said the entire naira swapped for the dollars came from legitimate sources, attaching the audited accounts of the company as exhibits.

Oceangate, in a motion on notice filed with the affidavit to show cause, sought an order setting aside the order of interim forfeiture of the $13 million, which it claimed belonged to it.

The company argued that the order was made by the court without requisite jurisdiction and against the principle of fair hearing.

But EFCC, in its reply to the affidavit to show cause filed by Oceangate, prayed the court to dismiss the application.

Aliyu, who also deposed to the affidavit on behalf of the commission, said they found that Iliya Wakil, who deposed to Oceangate’s affidavit to show cause, was a mere nominal director with no shareholding status of the company.

It would be recalled that Justice Nwite had, on September 15, 2025, ordered the final forfeiture of $7 million lodged in the Providus Bank branch in Ikoyi, Lagos State, but recovered by the EFCC, after nobody had come forward to claim the funds.

A company, Felak Concept Group Limited, later issued a statement to dismiss reports linking its GCEO, Achimugu, and its subsidiary, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd, to the controversial $7 million cash transaction allegedly tied to Providus Bank. (TRIBUNE)