Businesswoman and founder of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, Aisha Achimugu, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of persecution, intimidation and abuse of process, alleging that the agency’s actions have endangered her life, damaged her reputation and crippled her business interests.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Achimugu said she was not a criminal and had never been convicted of any offence, insisting that the anti-graft agency had subjected her to a sustained campaign of harassment and character assassination.
“I have never been known to be a troublemaker. I am not a criminal and I have never been convicted of any offence,” she said.
Achimugu alleged that the EFCC had engaged in “oppression, character assassination, intimidation and the deliberate dissipation of my lawfully acquired personal property,” adding that the agency’s actions had put her, her children and her investments at risk.
She said the commission’s repeated public statements and legal actions had unfairly portrayed her as a criminal, leading to the loss of business opportunities and reputational damage.
The statement comes days after a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Apo, granted a final forfeiture order transferring several assets linked to Achimugu to the Federal Government.
The forfeited assets include jewellery valued at over N4.6 billion, 11 luxury vehicles worth about N4.29 billion, as well as $50,000 and N30 million in cash.
The development followed an earlier ruling by a Federal High Court in Abuja, which ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to Achimugu and Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd after the EFCC argued that the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
However, Achimugu maintained that the forfeiture order is being challenged on appeal.
She argued that the $13 million formed part of a $20 million payment made by her company to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for petroleum prospecting licences and not proceeds of any criminal activity.
According to her, documentary evidence of the payments had already been submitted to the NUPRC, including transfers of $2 million and $5 million made through a South African bank into designated government accounts.
