The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt has vacated an order freezing 124 bank accounts belonging to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and corporate entities linked to her.
The appellate court, in a unanimous judgment delivered on Wednesday, discharged the interim ex parte freezing order granted by the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on April 10, 2025, following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Achimugu, founder of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, had challenged the continued restriction on the accounts, describing it as an abuse of court process.
The judgment was delivered by a three-member panel comprising Justices Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo, Ishaq Mohammed Sani, and Eleojo Enenche.
The case arose from an EFCC application seeking an order to temporarily restrict transactions on accounts allegedly connected to Achimugu and some corporate organisations linked to her.
The Federal High Court had granted the application and directed banks to stop withdrawals and other outward transactions from the affected accounts.
However, Achimugu later filed an application asking the court to lift the restriction, arguing that the freezing order had been improperly maintained and that the EFCC had taken steps outside the scope of the order.
She specifically raised concerns over an EFCC directive to SunTrust Bank to transfer funds from a frozen account to a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)/EFCC recovery account while the freezing order was still active.
In its ruling on August 27, 2025, the Federal High Court held that the transfer of N1.8 billion was unlawful and ordered that the money be returned.
The EFCC appealed the decision, arguing that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to deliver the ruling during its annual vacation, denied the agency fair hearing, and failed to properly assess evidence relating to the accounts and fund transfers.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the EFCC’s arguments on jurisdiction and fair hearing, holding that delivering a reserved judgment during vacation did not amount to conducting general legal business.
The appellate court also ruled that both parties had been given opportunities to present their positions on the disputed transfer through additional affidavits filed before the lower court.
On the N1.8 billion transfer, however, the Court of Appeal ruled that the evidence presented did not establish that the funds came from an account covered by the original freezing order.
The court noted that the accounts listed in the April 10, 2025 order included current accounts with balances of about N50.5 million and N16.2 million, while the N1.8 billion was traced to a different account.
It held that the trial court had failed to properly evaluate the evidence before directing the reversal of the transfer and consequently set aside that aspect of the ruling.
The appellate court, however, stated that its decision did not amount to an endorsement of the EFCC’s action in transferring the funds.
In the final part of the judgment, the Court of Appeal ruled that the interim freezing order itself could not remain in force indefinitely.
The court held that ex parte orders are temporary measures designed to preserve assets pending the hearing of substantive applications and should not continue for extended periods without proper judicial determination.
It ruled that allowing the order freezing Achimugu’s accounts and those of the affected companies to remain active for more than 15 months amounted to an abuse of court process and a breach of the rule of law.
The court therefore discharged and vacated the Federal High Court’s April 10, 2025 order in Suit No. FHC/PH/MISC/178/2025, effectively lifting the restrictions placed on the accounts belonging to Achimugu and the linked corporate entities.
