Nigerian businesswoman and oil and gas investor Aisha Achimugu has raised the alarm over threats to her life, alleging a sustained campaign of intimidation, media trial, and asset seizures against her, her family, and her businesses.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Achimugu said the actions taken against her amount to an affront to the rule of law and natural justice, and called for respect for court orders and an end to what she described as misleading media coverage of her person and companies.
Achimugu, widow of the late Engr. Sulaiman Achimugu, former Managing Director of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC), said she has spent three decades building businesses in the oil and gas sector and other industries. She also runs the SAM Empowerment Foundation (SEF), which she said has executed health, education, and community projects across Nigeria.
She alleged that since 2023, she has been under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to her account, the EFCC’s Port Harcourt zonal office froze her personal accounts, her children’s accounts, and accounts linked to her Felak Group of companies in 2023, based on an interim forfeiture order tied to a mistaken association with MBA Forex and Capital Investment.
Achimugu said she honoured an EFCC invitation in January 2024 alongside her counsel, clarified her company’s single transaction with MBA Forex, and refunded N58 million by bank draft to the EFCC’s recovery account.
She said fresh tension emerged in March 2025 when she received WhatsApp messages inviting her back to the EFCC’s Port Harcourt office. Her lawyer proposed alternative dates in April, but she alleged a media campaign linking her to wrongdoing began on March 10, 2025 regardless.
On March 28, 2025 — the same day her company, Oceangate Oil & Gas Limited, submitted proof of a $20 million payment to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for oil blocks PPL 302-DO and PPL 3007 — she claimed the EFCC declared her a “Wanted Person” over alleged conspiracy and money laundering, and that operatives searched her home the same day.
Achimugu said she filed a fundamental rights suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja in April 2025. However, upon returning to Nigeria from a foreign trip on April 28, 2025, she alleged she was taken into EFCC custody. A judge granted her bail, but she said she was not released for five days, and that her international passport was seized.
She further alleged that her bank accounts were frozen and vehicles seized from her residence in January 2026, with related matters now before the courts on appeal.
Achimugu also claimed her United States visa was revoked in April 2025 and that she has faced visa processing complications tied to her Grenadian citizenship, which she linked to media reports citing the EFCC’s “wanted” declaration.
She said she has invested close to $90 million in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector over the past five years, drawn in more than $100 million in additional investment, and directly employs nearly 200 Nigerians — adding that the EFCC’s actions have damaged her business operations, international partnerships, and family life, including her elderly parents and young children.
Achimugu called on the National Assembly, the judiciary, security agencies, and local and international human rights bodies to review her case. She appealed for protection of her life and property, respect for court orders, and an end to what she called a “media trial.”
“I believe that justice delayed is justice denied, and I am not afraid to face the law provided due process is followed. My lawyers are pursuing all legal remedies locally and internationally,” she said.
She added that she remains committed to Nigeria and to supporting private sector growth.
READ ALSO:
- Shettima: Nigeria Can’t Build $1trn Economy on Weak Governance
- Falz: Why I’ve Never Openly Endorsed Any Politician or Party
- Tinubu Approves New Army Battalion for Kwara
- Achimugu Cries Out Over Alleged Threat to Life, Demands Protection of Rights
- Court Voids ARCON’s ₦60bn Fine on Facebook Nigeria, But Raises Bigger Accountability Questions
