Detained businesswoman Aisha Achimugu remains in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as she has yet to meet her bail conditions. The EFCC rejected her initial sureties, citing their lack of landed property in Abuja.
Achimugu has been in detention over her alleged involvement in N8.71 billion worth of oil bloc transactions. Although she presented new sureties on Friday, the EFCC will verify their eligibility on Monday.
“Aisha is still in detention until she fulfills the bail conditions,” a senior EFCC official said. “The court directed us to set the terms, and we required two sureties with landed property in Abuja. The first set failed to meet these conditions.”
The commission is also investigating how Achimugu came to control 136 bank accounts, many of which are corporate.
She was declared wanted by the EFCC in March 2025 for alleged criminal conspiracy and money laundering. According to an affidavit deposed by EFCC investigator Chris Odofin, Achimugu is being probed for conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, money laundering, corruption, and unlawful acquisition of assets.
The affidavit revealed that she operates 136 accounts across 10 different banks. In her statement to investigators, Achimugu claimed the N8.71 billion inflow into her accounts represented investment funds intended for the acquisition of an oil bloc.
She said the funds were transferred to a Federal Government account through her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, referencing documentation from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
However, EFCC findings indicate that Achimugu’s firm acquired two oil blocs—Shallow Water PPL 3007 and Deep Offshore PPL 302-DO—for $25.3 million. The payments were allegedly made through bureau de change operators.
The commission is now probing the source of the funds and has raised concerns over the transparency of the oil bloc acquisition process.
