•Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Aisha Achimugu
The Lagos State government, led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over illicit $13 million traced to socialite and businesswoman Aisha Achimugu.
According to officials familiar with the case, our correspondent hinted on Wednesday that the EFCC began scrutinising Sanwo-Olu’s government’s connection to the funds after investigators discovered that part of the funds was sourced from contractors working for or providing services to the Lagos State Government.
“The facts about the origin of the funds are already public in court documents, but the full details of how a large chunk of the money was sourced from some contractors offering services to the Lagos State Government, the identities of the contractors, and the possible involvement of the governor and other government officials have not been disclosed in order not to jeopardise ongoing investigations,” a source told NewMailNG on the condition of anonymity due to lack of authorisation to speak publicly on the case.
On Wednesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered a permanent forfeiture of the $13 million to the Nigerian government, citing its fraudulent origin.
Later on Wednesday, there were unsuccessful attempts to get the comment of the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, and the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, on the disclosure in the suit tracing part of the suspicious funds to the state’s contractors and the EFCC’s investigations into the governor regarding the finances.
Neither of the two officials returned our reporter’s phone calls or responded to text or WhatsApp messages.
It remained unclear how the alleged scheme was executed. However, investigators say it remains curious that the contractors paid large sums to Ms Achimugu’s company without any valid business relationship with the firm or its owner.
It is also unclear whether Sanwo-Olu is aware of or participated in the alleged scheme or whether he is merely being investigated because he leads the administration under which the payments occurred.
Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled on Wednesday that the explanations made by Ms Achimugu’s company for the suspicious payments were not convincing. He said he was not persuaded that the company had legitimately earned the money.
There had been reports of a close relationship between Governor Sanwo-Olu and Ms Achimugu more than a year before the EFCC’s probe into the oil block transactions became public.
Sanwo-Olu was then reported to have abandoned work for days in January 2024 to party in the Caribbean Island of Grenada in commemoration of Ms Achimugu’s 50th birthday. Ms Achimugu turned 50 on 22 January 2024. She is now 52.
According to reports then, Sanwo-Olu flew in a private aircraft to the Caribbean Island and took residency in one of the most expensive resorts in the world to be part of the party.
He left many officials back home scrambling to figure out his whereabouts.
A website dedicated to the seven-day birthday party included information regarding visa arrangements, available chauffeurs, travel schedules, and the nearest airport to the event venue, among other details for the guests. The festivities commenced on 16 January with the arrival of guests.
But the governor, in his reaction to this newspaper’s report via his official X account @jidesanwoolu at the time, said he traveled on purpose to Grenada to advance his state’s economic interests. He neither denied nor confirmed attending the birthday party.
The first sign that Sanwo-Olu was possibly under EFCC investigation surfaced in October 2024, when a report circulated that the Lagos State governor had filed a suit to ward off EFCC investigations.
In the suit, the governor reportedly sought a declaration that the threat of his arrest and detention was illegal, unconstitutional, and a violation of his fundamental rights.
It added that the governor sought an order restraining the EFCC from harassing, arresting, and detaining him over his governance.
The report also stated that one Martha Kanu claimed in an affidavit filed in support of the suit that she was briefed on the suit’s details by the governor via teleconference.
She said she believed the governor’s briefing to be true. She reportedly said the governor told her that EFCC officials planned to arrest his aides and family members over allegations of fund diversion.
In what also appeared to shed further light on the scope of the relationship between Sanwo-Olu and Ms Achimugu, the controversial suit was filed by Darlington Ozurumba, the lawyer who also defended Ms Achimugu’s Oceangate Engineering in the $13 million forfeiture proceedings.
In the wake of the wide publicity the suit received, the Lagos State Government denied that the governor had authorised the filing of the suit, while also expressing doubts about the existence of any legal action.
“We need to clarify that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at no time, sued or briefed any legal practitioner to file a suit on his behalf concerning the above subject matter,” the Lagos State Government said in a statement issued on 30 October 2024 by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro.
“It is disingenuous for the governor, who enjoys immunity as conferred on him by the Constitution and has almost three years ahead of him, to brief any lawyer on this kind of matter.”
Pedro also denied the claim that the EFCC was investigating the Lagos State governor. He insisted that the EFCC had never invited or threatened to arrest the governor or any member of his staff.
Pedro also vouched for Sanwo-Olu’s judicious use of the state’s resources
Although Ozurumba appeared in court as the plaintiff’s lawyer to prosecute the case, the statement said that the origin of the reports about the purported suit was under investigation. It also cautioned media organisations to desist from circulating such misleading reports without proper investigation.
On 31 October 2024, a day after the Lagos State Government disowned the suit on behalf of the governor, the EFCC filed its response to the suit, categorically denying investigating or harassing the governor or any member of his family and staff.
But this was months before the oil block transactions took place.
Achimugu’s lifestyle has drawn public attention and controversy in the last two years.
Her January 2024 birthday extravaganza in Grenada and the $13 million forfeiture case are examples.
In 2025, the EFCC declared her wanted in a 28 March 2025 public notice over her alleged involvement in money laundering and a Ponzi scheme. EFCC linked her to the controversial MBA Trading and Capital Limited.
The declaration prompted Ms Achimugu to file a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/626/2025 seeking to restrain the EFCC and other agencies from arresting or detaining her.
She argued that her rights to freedom of movement, dignity, and privacy were under threat.
On 28 April 2025, the judge, Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered her to submit herself to the EFCC for questioning.
The following day, EFCC arrested her at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja upon her arrival from London at about 5 a.m. She has since been released from custody but continues facing investigations.
Although she has not been charged with any offence, her name has been linked to suspicious funds in an ongoing criminal trial while investigations into her continue.
