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The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has dismissed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking permission to challenge an earlier appellate judgment involving businesswoman Aisha Achimugu at the Supreme Court.
The ruling, delivered on Thursday, October 22, represents another setback for the anti-graft agency in its legal battle with Achimugu over the freezing of personal and corporate bank accounts linked to her.
The appellate court held that the EFCC had failed to establish sufficient grounds to warrant the permission it sought to appeal the earlier judgment.
According to an excerpt of the ruling, the court declared that the commission’s application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court lacked merit and was accordingly dismissed.
Earlier ruling on bank accounts remains
The latest decision leaves intact the Court of Appeal’s July 22 judgment, which vacated an interim order freezing bank accounts linked to Achimugu and companies associated with her.
The earlier order had been granted by the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on April 10, 2025, as part of proceedings connected to the EFCC’s investigation.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, comprising Justices Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo, Ishaq Mohammed Sani and Eleojo Enenche, had unanimously set aside the freezing order.
The commission’s latest application sought permission to challenge that judgment before the Supreme Court. However, the dismissal means the earlier appellate decision remains in force, subject to any further lawful proceedings.
Legal battle over freezing orders
The dispute forms part of a prolonged legal confrontation between Achimugu and the EFCC, involving investigations, asset seizures, restrictions on financial accounts and several court proceedings.
The earlier appellate judgment also raised questions about the exercise of statutory powers by investigating agencies when seeking interim orders to freeze the assets and bank accounts of individuals and corporate organisations.
The latest ruling, however, concerned the EFCC’s application for leave to appeal and did not, on its own, amount to a determination of every issue relating to the underlying investigation.
The decision marks a further procedural hurdle for the commission as the legal dispute over the restrictions imposed on Achimugu’s financial operations continues.
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