Court Rejects EFCC Bid in Aisha Achimugu Account Dispute

The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has dismissed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking permission to challenge at the Supreme Court an earlier judgment that vacated an interim order freezing 124 bank accounts linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and associated companies.

The appellate court dismissed the commission’s application on Thursday, October 22, describing the request for leave to appeal as lacking merit. The decision was reported on Friday, October 23.

The ruling leaves undisturbed the Court of Appeal’s July 22 judgment discharging the interim freezing order originally obtained by the EFCC from the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on April 10, 2025.

In the earlier judgment, the appellate court held that allowing the interim order to remain in force for more than 15 months amounted to an abuse of court process. It emphasised that interim freezing orders are intended to preserve disputed funds temporarily, rather than impose indefinite restrictions while investigations continue.

The July judgment also addressed a separate dispute over ₦1.8 billion transferred to a recovery account associated with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the EFCC. The appellate court set aside an order directing the reversal of that transfer because the evidence did not sufficiently establish that the money came from an account covered by the original freezing order.

However, the court made clear that setting aside the reversal directive did not establish that the EFCC’s transfer directive was lawful.

The October ruling concerns the commission’s attempt to secure permission to challenge the earlier appellate judgment. It does not determine the merits of the underlying financial allegations or automatically dispose of separate proceedings involving Achimugu.

The development highlights the limits of interim asset-freezing orders and the role of appellate courts in reviewing the exercise of investigative powers.

The EFCC continues to have separate proceedings involving Achimugu and related matters. Those proceedings remain distinct from the bank-account dispute addressed by the latest ruling.