Major Legal Win For Aisha Achimugu As Appeal Court Lifts Bank Account Freeze

The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has lifted the interim order freezing the bank accounts of businesswoman and Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited founder, Aisha Achimugu, along with accounts belonging to companies linked to her.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Wednesday, a three-member panel comprising Justices Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo, Ishaq Mohammed Sani, and Eleojo Enenche set aside the ex parte freezing order issued by the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on April 10, 2025.

The dispute stemmed from an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which secured an order freezing 124 bank accounts allegedly connected to Achimugu and several corporate entities while directing banks to halt all outward transactions.

Achimugu later challenged the order, arguing that its prolonged enforcement amounted to an abuse of court process. She also accused the EFCC of violating the freezing order by instructing SunTrust Bank, through a letter dated April 24, 2025, to transfer funds from one of the affected accounts into a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)/EFCC recovery account.

On August 27, 2025, the Federal High Court ruled that the transfer of ₦1.8 billion from a SunTrust Bank account linked to one of Achimugu’s companies was unlawful and ordered the money to be returned immediately.

The EFCC appealed the decision, contending that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to deliver its ruling during the court’s annual vacation, granted relief that was not specifically sought, and failed to properly assess evidence relating to the affected accounts.

However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the commission’s arguments on jurisdiction and fair hearing, holding that delivering a reserved judgment during the annual vacation did not amount to conducting regular court business. The court also ruled that both parties had been given ample opportunity to present their cases.

The appellate court further held that a court which grants a freezing order has the authority to issue consequential orders necessary to preserve the subject matter of the case.

Despite this, the panel found merit in the EFCC’s argument regarding the source of the disputed ₦1.8 billion. It held that the evidence before the trial court did not establish that the funds originated from any of the accounts covered by the April 10, 2025 freezing order.

The court noted that the frozen account identified by the lower court held about ₦50.5 million, making it impossible to conclude, without sufficient evidence, that the same account was the source of the ₦1.8 billion transfer.

Consequently, the appellate court set aside the Federal High Court’s order directing the return of the ₦1.8 billion, while clarifying that its decision did not validate the EFCC’s transfer of the funds.

On the broader issue, the Court of Appeal ruled that allowing the ex parte freezing order to remain in force for more than 15 months was contrary to the rule of law and amounted to an abuse of court process.

The court stressed that interim freezing orders are temporary measures intended to preserve disputed assets only until the substantive application is heard.

As a result, the appellate court discharged and vacated the April 10, 2025 order in its entirety, effectively unfreezing all bank accounts belonging to Achimugu and the companies associated with her.