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The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of $7 million (about ₦11.2 billion at the prevailing exchange rate) to the Federal Government after the funds were discovered to have been deposited in Providus Bank under questionable circumstances.
According to investigations, the cash was deposited in raw currency on March 26 and 27, 2025, directly into the bank’s vaults at its Victoria Island headquarters rather than being credited to any customer’s account.
This was later flagged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as highly unusual.
An internal whistleblower working with the EFCC alerted the agency, prompting officials to storm the bank’s headquarters unannounced. Some staff members were subsequently taken in for questioning.
During interrogation, EFCC operatives were told the funds belonged to one of the bank’s high-profile clients, businesswoman Aisha Achimugu, Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Gate Petroleum, who is a businesswoman, socialite, ally, and alleged lover of Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Achimugu, who was later invited by the EFCC, reportedly denied ownership of the $7 million, insisting she only took a loan of that amount from the bank and had not repaid it.
A source privy to the investigation said, “The money was deposited under suspicious circumstances in raw cash. Instead of paying it into their customer’s account, the money was deposited into the vaults of Providus Bank, which was unusual and suspicious.
“An anonymous whistleblower who works at the bank and serves as a spy for the EFCC alerted the anti-corruption agency of the unusual transactions that just occurred at the bank.
“Acting on that intelligence, the staff of the EFCC swooped on the Providus headquarters, and the EFCC officials demanded the money, leaving with some bank staff for proper interrogation.
“On further interrogation, the arrested bank staff revealed that the $7 million belongs to one of their biggest customers, Abuja big girl and Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State’s alleged sidekick, Aisha Achimugu, who is also the CEO of Ocean Gate Petroleum.”
SaharaReporters gathered that Aisha was summoned by the EFCC to explain the source of the funds.
“She denied depositing that kind of money, claiming she borrowed $7 million loan from Providus Bank and had yet to pay it back,” a source said.
Confused, the EFCC put up an advert in national newspapers, inviting whoever owned the contentious $7 million to come forward and explain its source.
However, nobody came forward to claim the money.
Faced with conflicting claims, the EFCC published a public notice in national newspapers asking anyone with legitimate ownership of the money to come forward and explain its source.
Providus Bank also came under scrutiny for allegedly failing to file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), despite the nature of the transaction raising multiple red flags.
The EFCC eventually recovered the cash and transferred it to the Central Bank of Nigeria for safekeeping. Following a court application, a final forfeiture order was granted on Monday, transferring ownership of the $7 million to the Federal Government.
The ruling, delivered on Monday by Justice Emeka Nwite, followed an application by the EFCC, which argued that the funds were suspected proceeds of unlawful activities.
Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, counsel for the EFCC, told the court that the commission had fulfilled all procedural requirements after securing an interim forfeiture order on August 27.
He noted that the order was duly published, inviting any interested parties to appear and show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
“My lord, since August 27, when your lordship granted the order, to date, we have not received any opposition to our application,” Oyedepo said.
“Hence, we filed a motion for final forfeiture.”
Although a lawyer, Mr. Gbenga Akande, had earlier appeared in court claiming to represent an interested party, he refused to disclose his client’s identity and failed to file any supporting documents, according to Nairametrics.
At the next hearing, Akande was absent, and another lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, appeared but raised no objection to the EFCC’s application.
