The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has laid bare an alleged financial trail showing how $13 million in suspected illicit funds linked to Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited was used to acquire two Nigerian oil blocks connected to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu during the 2024 oil licensing round.
In an affidavit filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu stated that Oceangate, incorporated in 2005, emerged successful in bids for Deep Offshore PPL 302 and Shallow Water PPL 3007, allegedly deploying funds believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities. The anti-graft agency is now seeking the final forfeiture of the $13 million traced to the transactions.
According to Aliyu, Oceangate paid the required signature bonuses through Zenith Bank, while Providus Bank transferred $7 million to the Federal Government in March 2025 as part of the payment process. Altogether, the company reportedly paid $20 million between March 20 and April 3, 2025, to secure the two oil assets.
The EFCC further alleged that the funds were raised through a network involving unlicensed Bureau de Change operators and compromised bank officials, with significant portions moved outside the formal banking system. The investigator claimed that $13 million was gathered in cash through associates, including Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma, with additional involvement of Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited and Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited.
The affidavit also traced part of the money to contractors linked to Lagos State, alleging that the funds were routed through Zenith and Access Bank accounts belonging to Ashrab Energy, converted into dollars, and subsequently transferred to Oceangate to finance the oil block acquisitions.
Aliyu maintained that the money in question did not originate from any verifiable business operations of Oceangate, stressing that it was “not proceeds of any lawful and legitimate business of the company, but funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.”
However, Oceangate’s director, Iliya Wakil, rejected the allegations, insisting that the funds were derived from legitimate earnings and personal gifts to Aisha Achimugu, and urged the court to vacate the interim forfeiture order.
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the matter to March 25, 2026, for ruling. The court had earlier, on August 22, 2025, granted an interim forfeiture order and directed the EFCC to publish a public notice inviting interested parties to show why the funds should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.