Appeal Court Vacates Order Freezing 124 Bank Accounts Linked to Aisha Achimugu

The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has set aside an interim order freezing 124 bank accounts belonging to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and companies linked to her.

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

The appeal arose from a suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against a decision of the Federal High Court delivered on August 27, 2025.

The Federal High Court had initially ordered the temporary freezing of the accounts following an application by the EFCC and directed banks to halt all outward transactions.

However, Achimugu, founder of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited, challenged the order, arguing that the anti-graft agency violated the court’s directive by instructing SunTrust Bank to transfer funds from one of the frozen accounts into a Central Bank of Nigeria recovery account while the freezing order remained in force.

She told the court that the EFCC’s directive, contained in a letter dated April 24, 2025, led to the transfer of N1.8 billion from one of the affected accounts.

In its August 2025 ruling, the Federal High Court declared the transfer illegal and ordered the immediate reversal of the N1.8 billion.

The EFCC appealed the decision, arguing that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter during its annual vacation, denied the commission a fair hearing by granting reliefs not sought, and failed to properly evaluate evidence concerning the ownership and balances of the accounts.

Counsel for Achimugu urged the appellate court to dismiss the appeal, maintaining that the lower court merely enforced its earlier orders by directing the reversal of funds transferred in violation of the freezing order.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Sirajo held that delivering a reserved judgment during the court’s annual vacation does not amount to conducting general legal business and does not invalidate the proceedings.

The Court of Appeal also ruled that the EFCC was not denied fair hearing, noting that both parties filed additional affidavits before the lower court on the disputed transfer of funds.

The judgment effectively upholds the lower court’s decision nullifying the transfer of N1.8 billion and vacating the interim freezing order on the affected accounts.