By Uche Onyeali
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has arrested oa renowned socialite and Chief Executive of Felak Concept Group, Aisha Achimugu, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Achimugu’s arrest was disclosed by her legal team led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), in a statement yesterday.
The statement emphasised that Achimugu, who arrived voluntarily into the country from London, was arrested around 5am at the Abaja airport yesterday.
AljazirahNigeria recalls that Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on Monday, ordered Achimugu to surrender herself to the EFCC and face her trial over allegations of money laundering and financial impropriety levelled against her by the anti-graft commission.
Justice Ekwo gave the order in a ruling delivered on Monday, in respect of a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/626/2025, 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 the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS.
At Monday’s hearing of the matter, Ogunwumiju had told the court that Achimugu had already stated in her court documents that she would visit the EFCC on Tuesday in connection with its ongoing investigation.
In response to her application, counsel to the EFCC, 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.
She 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, she allegedly failed to report back as agreed, choosing instead to file a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the commission.
The affidavit revealed that in her statement, Achimugu explained the inflow of N8.71 billion into her corporate bank accounts as an “investment fund” for the acquisition of an oil bloc.
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.
Further investigation in the affidavit, however, indicated that the chief executive’s company actually acquired two oil blocs, Shallow Water PPL 3007 and Deep Offshore PPL 302-DO at the cost of $25.3 million. 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 partnership.
EFCC also alleged that the acquisition process was fraught with corruption. Despite the acquisition, neither of the two oil blocs had commenced exploration or production as at the time of investigation.
The EFCC stressed that Achimugu’s current suit was 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 violation.
