Abuja businesswoman Aisha Achimugu has lost her bid to make the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission pay ₦10bn in damages for searching her home and seizing her property. The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the fundamental rights suit, according to a statement issued on Monday by the commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale. The ruling adds to a run of courtroom defeats for the businesswoman, who has been under EFCC investigation for alleged money laundering since 2024.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/466/2026, Achimugu asked the court to decide whether the commission acted within its powers when it searched her house and took away her cars, jewellery and other items. She also sought an order enforcing her right to privacy and restraining the EFCC from threatening, harassing or invading her residence. Her claim for ₦10bn in damages rested on what she described as an invasion of her privacy.
Justice M.S. Liman held that the commission was entitled to search the property after receiving intelligence on her alleged criminal activities. “EFCC has the right to search the residence,” the judge said, according to the commission. He also found that Achimugu and her lawyers had shown no reason to justify the damages she demanded, and described the suit as frivolous and brought in bad faith.
EFCC counsel, Emenike Mgbemele, welcomed the judgment as being in the interest of justice. He described the suit as a ploy to waste the court’s time. Achimugu has not publicly responded to the ruling, and it is not yet known whether she will appeal.
The dispute dates back more than two years. The EFCC first invited Achimugu, Group Chief Executive Officer of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, for questioning in February 2024. The commission declared her wanted in March 2025, and operatives arrested her at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on April 29, 2025. A day later, the Federal High Court ordered her release within 24 hours.
At the heart of the investigation are payments linked to oil block interests acquired by Oceangate. According to the EFCC’s case, the company paid about $20m towards a signature bonus between March and April 2025, including $13m in instalments through a Zenith Bank account. The commission alleged that some of the money came from contractors who had no business relationship with the company.
Oceangate has rejected that account. A director, Iliya Wakil, told the court the funds were legitimate company earnings and gifts to Achimugu. He said the currency dealer named by the EFCC was a licensed operator engaged to source dollars because the government required the bonus in foreign currency.
The courts have so far sided with the commission. On March 25, 2026, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court ordered the final forfeiture of the $13m to the Federal Government. He held that neither Oceangate nor Achimugu had shown that the money was legitimately obtained.
A second blow came in July. On July 16, 2026, Justice Jude Onwugbuzie of the FCT High Court, Apo, granted the final forfeiture of jewellery valued at ₦4,645,170,294.90, 11 exotic vehicles worth ₦4.293bn, $50,000 and ₦30m in cash. That brings the naira assets alone to about ₦8.97bn, besides the $13m already forfeited.
The EFCC told the court that the items were recovered during a search of her residence. It said Achimugu did not list them in the assets declaration form she filled during the investigation. The assets had earlier been placed under interim forfeiture on April 23, 2026.
Achimugu has consistently denied wrongdoing. In a statement in July, she accused the commission of wrongly linking her to MBA Forex and Capital Investment, which she said led to the freezing of her personal and corporate accounts in 2023. She also alleged that operatives raided her home on January 20, 2026, removing every vehicle on the premises with cranes and flatbed trucks.
The businesswoman further blamed the EFCC for the revocation of her United States visa. She said she was notified on April 4, 2025, seven days after she was declared wanted. The commission has denied that its investigation is politically motivated.
Several questions remain open. Oceangate has said it is appealing the $13m forfeiture, and Achimugu said in July that she had appealed the forfeiture order and was awaiting the outcome. No criminal charge against her has been made public, and forfeiture proceedings under Nigerian law are civil actions against property, not findings of criminal guilt against the owner.
Monday’s ruling, however, settles one point for now. The court has upheld the commission’s power to search her home on the basis of intelligence, a position the businesswoman may yet challenge at the Court of Appeal.