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A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo, Abuja, on Thursday ordered the final forfeiture of assets linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu to the federal government after ruling that they were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The forfeited assets include jewellery valued at N4.645 billion, 11 exotic vehicles worth N4.293 billion, 50,000 United States dollars and N30 million in cash.
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie delivered the judgment on July 16, 2026, granting the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the final forfeiture of the assets.
According to the anti-graft agency, its investigation was triggered by financial intelligence that revealed massive inflows and outflows running into billions of naira and millions of dollars through more than 136 bank accounts linked to Achimugu.
The EFCC said investigations further showed that funds passing through companies associated with her were not declared as revenue in financial statements submitted to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The commission stated that during searches conducted at Achimugu’s residence, operatives recovered the jewellery, vehicles and cash later forfeited by the court.
It added that although Achimugu completed an Assets Declaration Form while under interrogation, she allegedly failed to declare the recovered assets as her properties.
The EFCC maintained that its investigation established that the funds traced to accounts linked to the businesswoman did not originate from legitimate business activities and that the recovered assets were acquired from unlawful sources.
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Following the investigation, the commission, through its legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Ekele Iheanacho, approached the court under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, seeking an interim forfeiture order.
On April 23, 2026, Justice Onwuegbuzie granted the interim application and directed the EFCC to publish the order in national newspapers, inviting any interested person to show cause within 14 days why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.
The EFCC said it complied with the directive by publishing the order and subsequently filed a motion seeking final forfeiture.
Achimugu, through her lawyers, opposed the application by filing affidavits to show cause and also sought to set aside the interim forfeiture order.
After hearing arguments from both parties, the court reserved judgment until July 16.
In its judgment on Thursday, the court held that Achimugu failed to rebut the evidence presented by the EFCC and did not discharge the legal burden of proving that the assets were acquired from lawful sources.
The court consequently ordered the final forfeiture of the jewellery, vehicles and cash to the federal government.
