Aisha Achimugu funds worth $7m seized by EFCC from Providus Bank vaults. Court orders forfeiture of suspicious cash linked to oil mogul in bold anti-graft move
A staggering $7 million was permanently seized by Nigeria’s Federal Government after a dramatic Federal High Court ruling in Abuja on Monday.
Justice Emeka Nwite branded the cash, worth over ₦11.2 billion, as proceeds of illicit activity, delivering a crushing blow to the owners of the funds.
The scandal erupted when the EFCC, acting on a whistleblower’s tip, raided Providus Bank’s Ikoyi branch in Lagos.
There, in March 2025, raw dollar bundles sat untouched by any customer account, a brazen move that screamed suspicion.
Investigators swooped, arresting bank staff and hauling away the loot.
Aisha Achimugu, the dazzling CEO of Ocean Gate Petroleum, was alleged to have been the owner.
Known for rubbing shoulders with Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, she denied the funds were hers.
Public notices begging for claimants drew blanks, with even a fleeting lawyer’s plea fizzling out.
The bank’s silence didn’t help.
Providus failed to flag the deposit as suspicious, a regulatory misstep that fuelled the EFCC’s fire.
Justice Nwite’s ruling was clear: the funds now belong to the state, a bold win for Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade.
This isn’t Achimugu’s first scrape.
She’s tangled in a separate $12 million laundering probe with SunTrust Bank executives, where murky cash handoffs raised red flags.
Earlier this year, she was briefly wanted, arrested, then bailed amid whispers of high-level protection.
The forfeiture leaves questions hanging.
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