The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has set aside an interim order freezing 124 bank accounts linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and several corporate entities associated with her, bringing an end to a legal dispute that stemmed from an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigation.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo, alongside Justices Ishaq Mohammed Sani and Eleojo Enenche, the appellate court discharged the ex parte freezing order issued by the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on April 10, 2025.
The accounts belonged to Achimugu, the founder of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, and several companies allegedly linked to her. The Federal High Court had granted the freezing order following an application by the EFCC, which was investigating suspected financial transactions involving the accounts.
Following the order, Achimugu challenged the freeze, arguing that the continued restriction of the accounts amounted to an abuse of court process. She also contended that the EFCC had instructed SunTrust Bank to transfer ₦1.8 billion from one of the affected accounts into a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)/EFCC recovery account while the freezing order was still in force.
In August 2025, the Federal High Court ruled that the transfer was unlawful and ordered the immediate reversal of the funds. Dissatisfied with that decision, the EFCC appealed, arguing, among other grounds, that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to deliver its ruling during the court’s annual vacation and that it had granted reliefs not sought by the parties.
The Court of Appeal rejected the EFCC’s arguments on jurisdiction and fair hearing, holding that the lower court was entitled to deliver a reserved judgment during the annual vacation. However, it found merit in the commission’s argument regarding the evidence surrounding the ₦1.8 billion transfer, ruling that the account from which the money was moved had not been shown to be among those specifically covered by the April 10, 2025 freezing order. Consequently, it set aside the lower court’s order directing the reversal of the funds.
The appellate court further held that allowing an interim ex parte freezing order to remain in force for more than 15 months was inconsistent with the temporary nature of such orders and amounted to an abuse of court process. It therefore discharged and vacated the freezing order in its entirety.
The ruling marks the latest development in a series of legal proceedings involving Achimugu. Separately, courts have recently issued orders relating to the forfeiture of assets linked to the businesswoman in other EFCC cases, which remain distinct from the dispute over the frozen bank accounts.
