By TAIYE AGBAJE

Justice I.E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered businesswoman Aisha Achimugu to appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, in connection with an investigation on Tuesday at noon.

Justice Ekwo, who gave the order in a ruling, also ordered the EFCC, upon the appearance of Achimugu at its office, to return with her to court on Wednesday for report.

The development followed an application by Achimugu?s counsel, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, for an order to protect her client from being detained or harassed by the EFCC following her decision to honour the commission?s invitation for continuation of investigation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ekwo had, on April 11, ordered the EFCC and five other security agencies to file their defence in a suit instituted by Achimugu to stop her planned arrest and detention.

Other security agencies listed in the fundamental rights enforcement suit are the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and State Security Service (SSS).

They also include the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).

The judge had given the order following a complaint by Ogunwumiju that despite being served with the earlier order of the court for respondents to show cause why the applicant?s prayers should not be granted, none of them was in court as directed.

Achimugu, an industrialist, had in an ex-parte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/626/2025, sued the NPF, ICPC and SSS as 1st to 3rd respondents.

The applicant, through her lawyer, also joined the EFCC, NSCDC and NIS as 4th to 6th respondents respectively in the motion dated and filed April 3.

She sought an order of interim injunction restraining the respondents from threatening or harassing her with arrest, detention and invasion of her ?properties or threatening to impede her fundamental right to freedom of movement, liberty, privacy and properties,? among others.

While given 10 grounds why her application should be granted, Achimugu said on March 28, the EFCC declared her wanted.

She said that her declaration as ?wanted? was unwarranted, unjustifiable, devoid of probable cause, and is calculated to discredit, humiliate, and subject her to public opprobrium, thereby causing irreparable harm to her reputation, personal dignity, and professional standing.

On April 11, the judge had given the respondents the last opportunity to appear before him to show cause why Achimugu?s reliefs should not be granted and adjourned until today for hearing.

When the matter was called on Monday, ICPC, SSS, EFCC and NIS were represented in court.

Ogunwumiju informed the court that the matter was scheduled for the respondents to show cause.

He said the respondents served on them their counter affidavits about closing hours on Friday together with applications for extension of time.

He said he was yet to received any process from 1st, 5th and 6th respondents (police, NSCDC and NIS).

Ogunwumiju said they had indicated that Achimugu.would be returning to Nigeria on Tuesday and she would be reporting to the EFCC?s office by 12 noon.

He said he thought the respondents would have responded to their application on time so that all could be taken today.

The lawyer, however, did not oppose to the motion.for an extension of time to file their processes moved by counsel to the ICPC, G.O. Ndieze, and that of the EFCC, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, and it granted by the court.

Ogunwumiju said he would like to highlight certain uncontroverted facts before the court.

He said in the affidavit in support of their originating processes, Achimugu had indicated that she would return and attend her interview before the EFCC on April 29.

?Particularly at paragraph 61, she has indicated her willingness to cooperate with the investigation,? he said.

The lawyer, however, said that in the affidavit to show cause filed by the EFCC, tye commission averred in Paragraphs 9 and 10 that his client was earlier admitted to administrative bail.

Ogunwumiju, therefore, prayed the court to order her client to return on Tuesday,, report to EFCC and continue on the same bail conditions.

?We will be asking for an order to restrain the respondents for further harassing her.

?I refer the court to Paragraph 52 of the counter affidavit by the 4th respondent (EFCC).

?This indicates that she enjoys bail. We want the court to give order to protect her.

?We urge the court to consider that she is coming with her son that has a special need,? he said.

Iheanacho, however, disagreed with Ogunwumiju?s application.

He said the court had earlier given a judgment in a similar matter filed by Achimugu on Feb. 19, setting aside the application made by her for the enforcement of her right.

Justice Ekwo, however, directed Iheanacho to restrict himself to Achimugu?s motion ex-parte in which they were to show cause.

?We are not talking about the substantive matter now, what they are looking at is for you to show cause why the application she has prayed

?The learned count for the applicant has pointed you to your own averment in your counter affidavit which I consider to be your affidavit to show cause.

?I do not see any controversy if the applicant says I am coming to you on a date and then says, you have granted her bail, so you should not arrest her.

?Unless, you are denying this averment,? the judge said.

Responding, Iheanacho argued that Achimugu?s application was speculative because her right had never been breached.

The lawyer further argued that Achimugu violated the administrative bail conditions.

?We have invited the applicant and she refused to come. We wrote to her to come and she refused to come,? he added.

?The present situation is that the applicant is coming to you.

?If the applicant comes to you, she has surrendered,? the judge said.

?If the applicant comes, we will take it up from there. The application before this court is of no moment,? Iheanacho responded.

Ogunwumiju then applied that the court should adjourned until Wednesday so that if his client is allowed to continue on the bail, the suit would be withdrawn.

After the submissions of the lawyers, Justice Ekwo ordered Achimugu to appear at EFCC?s office on Tuesday.

?The 4th respondent requires the applicant to appear before them to assist in the course of investigation which is the constitutional obligation of the 4th respondent.

?And I also see the applicant showing willingness to appear in the course.

?Therefore, I find no controversy considering the averment of the applicant and none should be created.

?Therefore, I am minded to make the following orders.

?The applicant shall appear before the 4th respondent on 29th April, 2025, as couched by the applicant in paragraph 61 of the affidavit in support of the motion ex-parte and Exhibit 3E.

?I further make an order that the 4th respondent upon the appearance of the applicant shall return with the applicant to this court on 30th April, 2025 for report of the appearance of the applicant.

?This is the order of this court,? the judge ruled.

NAN reports that in the EFCC?s affidavit to show cause, the commission averred that on Feb. 12, 2024 when Achimugu was in their office with her lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, she wrote a statement.

The commission said in the statement, she explained some of the huge funds which passed through her corporate bank accounts.

It said that Achimugu admitted that the sum of N8,710,000,000.00. (Eight billion, seven hundred and ten million naira) was paid by her partners as investment fund into purchase and payment of signature bonus for the acquisition of oil bloc on Nov. 8, 2022.

It said further investigation however revealed that Achimugu, through her company, Ocean Gate Engineering Oli and Gas Limited, acquired two oil blocs, namely Shallow Water -PPL 3007 and Deep Offshore-PPL 302-DO for the total sum of $25, 300, 000 (twenty-five million, three hundred thousand dollars) through majorly cash payments made to the Bureau De Change (BDC) operators who in turn made payments to Federal Government via corporate accounts.

The commission alleged that the ultimate sources of the said sum of $25, 300, 000 used in the acquisition of the oil blocs were not linked to her lawful earning or income or any business partner.

?That the acquisition of the Oil Blocks was marred by corrupt practices as bribes were paid to the officials of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission in the process.

?That none of the Oil Blocks assigned/allocated to Ocean Gate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Commission has commenced exploration/production from inception to date,? the EFCC said.

The anti-graft agency averred that following the decision of the court in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/451/2024 which dismissed Achimugu?s suit, the commission, in continuation of its investigation, sent letters to some agencies of government, including FIRS, CBN, etc.

It said further investigation revealed that Achimugu operates a total of 136 bank accounts across ten different banks both in her personal and corporate names. (NAN)

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