A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent seizure of a private aircraft linked to an alleged corruption and money laundering scheme tied to contracts under the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, followed findings from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that the jet was acquired through funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The aircraft, a Hawker 800XP registered as 5N-AMK, was ordered to be handed over to the Federal Government after the court held that the owners failed to justify the source of money used to purchase it.
According to the EFCC, investigations connected the transaction to contract funds from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited) worth over $114 million and ₦23 billion.
The anti-graft agency told the court that the jet was purchased through a Bureau De Change operator and later linked to Valiente Jet Limited, a company associated with Abdulsalam Mustapha Kachallah. The agency argued that the structure of the transaction suggested an attempt to conceal the true origin of the funds.
The court agreed that the explanations provided by the defence were not convincing enough, noting that the process used to acquire the aircraft raised strong concerns about illegality. It also pointed out that the intermediary involved in the purchase denied knowledge of the deal.
EFCC investigators further alleged that contract payments involving a Chinese engineering firm, China Machinery Engineering Company, were routed through several accounts before being used to acquire the aircraft. Some of the funds were said to have passed through Afuwa Integrated Services Limited and later moved into foreign accounts used for the purchase.
The defence team, led by senior lawyer M.E. Oru (SAN), argued that the transactions were legitimate consultancy payments and that the companies involved were separate legal entities. However, the EFCC maintained that corporate structures were used to disguise personal benefit.
After reviewing evidence and arguments from both sides, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that the EFCC had established enough grounds for forfeiture and granted the request to permanently seize the aircraft in favour of the Federal Government.
