Court filings reveal taxpayer-linked funds flowed into a shell company a federal court has permanently forfeited — and nobody in Lagos is talking. KEHINDE ADEGOKE unearths.
Abuja: A federal court has permanently forfeited $13 million linked to socialite Aisha Achimugu and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited. Buried inside the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission affidavits that secured the forfeiture order is a detail that reaches far beyond Abuja. It lands squarely in the lap of the Lagos State Government.
EFCC court filings, reviewed by TheDiggerNews.com, confirm that part of the funds used by Oceangate to pay signature bonuses on two Nigerian oil blocks was derived from money transferred by the Lagos State Government to contractors for the execution of state contracts. Contractors then channelled those funds directly into Oceangate, despite having no formal business relationship with the company.
In plain terms, money originating from Lagos State Government project payments allegedly funded a shell company that a Federal High Court has now found to have acquired assets using proceeds of unlawful activity.
Every Lagos taxpayer has a stake in that finding.
THE MONEY TRAIL FROM LAGOS
The financial chain, as documented in EFCC affidavits filed before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, is precise and damning.
Funds transferred by the Lagos State Government to unnamed contractors for the execution of state contracts were channelled into two companies: Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited (operated by Dantani Abubakar Hassan) and Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited (operated by Tirmizi Muhammed Usman). These contractors acted as intermediaries. They received state payments, depositing a combined total of ₦2,455,651,560 into Ashrab Energy’s Zenith and Access Bank accounts, despite no clear direct contract with Oceangate.
Those naira funds were then converted to dollars through Bureau de Change operators outside any licensed financial institution. They were transferred into Oceangate Engineering’s Zenith Bank account, from where they were paid to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria as signature bonuses for oil blocks PPL 302 and PPL 3007.
The EFCC’s characterisation of this entire operation is unambiguous: Oceangate, it said, was a briefcase or shell company created specifically to hold petroleum-related assets acquired with tainted funds.
THE CONTRACTORS NOBODY IS NAMING
The most explosive detail in the EFCC filings is also the most frustrating: the specific identities of the contractors who received Lagos State Government funds and allegedly channelled them into this network are not disclosed in any public court documents, leaving unclear which parties directly handled the funds.
Although the EFCC knows the identities of the contractors, the relevant ministries, and the specific state projects, this crucial information—which would reveal which contractors improperly redirected taxpayer funds—is not available to the public within current court documents.
TheDiggerNews.com is filing a Freedom of Information request for the Lagos State Government contract award register. The public deserves to know which contractors allegedly diverted taxpayer funds into the forfeited network.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR SANWO-OLU’S ADMINISTRATION
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu‘s office has not been named in any EFCC filing in connection with this matter. That must be stated clearly and on the record.
But his administration’s exposure is real — and indirect. The procurement channel through which Lagos State contractor funds allegedly flowed into the Achimugu network operated under his watch. The contracts were awarded under his administration. The funds were disbursed through the government’s financial system.
The questions his administration must answer are straightforward:
Was the Lagos State Government aware that funds transferred to its contractors were being channelled into Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited — a company a federal court has now found to have acquired assets using proceeds of unlawful activity?
Has any internal investigation been conducted or commissioned into the contractors implicated in these EFCC filings?
Will Lagos State cooperate with the EFCC to identify the unnamed contractors and the specific state contracts under which the implicated funds were disbursed?
Does the Lagos State Government intend to take any legal or administrative action in connection with this matter?
TheDiggerNews.com calls on Governor Sanwo-Olu and Attorney-General Lawal Pedro to respond directly to these findings. Engage now—full responses will be published upon receipt.
THE SILENCE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Lagos State Attorney-General Lawal Pedro and Commissioner for Information Gbenga Omotoso are the two officials best positioned to speak to this matter on behalf of the Lagos State Government.
TheDiggerNews.com calls on both officials to answer the specific questions raised. The public deserves immediate and comprehensive accountability. Their responses—or their silence—will be reported verbatim and without delay.
A state government cannot remain silent when contractor funds are traced to a forfeited shell company. Lagos officials must publicly explain and act—or risk further eroding public trust.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
This is not simply a story about Aisha Achimugu or Oceangate Engineering. It is a story about how public funds — money collected from Lagos taxpayers and disbursed for the execution of public projects — can travel through a procurement system, into a contractor’s account, and out through a BDC operator. The money then crosses into a shell company and ends up as a signature bonus on an oil block — all without triggering a single alarm in any government system.
That is not just a corruption story. It is a systemic failure story. And it demands answers not just from the individuals named in EFCC filings — but from every institution whose processes allowed this to happen.
WHAT COMES NEXT
This report is the second instalment in TheDiggerNews.com‘s continuing investigation into the financial architecture behind the Achimugu $13 million forfeiture. Our full investigative report — Part 1 of a multi-part series — examines the complete network of fixers, phantom audits, and Ponzi pipelines that fed this operation.
Part 2 of the investigation will address the current legal status of oil blocks PPL 302 and PPL 3007. It will include the full list of 21 companies and 136 accounts flagged by the EFCC across this network. The part will cover the outstanding $4.2 million gap in Oceangate’s total signature bonus obligations, and the fate of Maxwell Chizi Odum. Odum, a declared EFCC fugitive since 2021, allegedly facilitated the movement of billions into this network and has not been arrested.
TheDiggerNews.com is requesting comments from Aisha Achimugu, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Limited, Lagos Attorney-General Lawal Pedro, Commissioner Gbenga Omotoso, NUPRC, and Governor Sanwo-Olu. Responses will be published in full. The investigation continues.