Witness tells court how $3m was transferred to Aisha Achimugu
Trinity Usman, a prosecution witness, on Friday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he received and transferred $3 million into the account of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, a company owned by Aisha Achimugu.
Usman, who testified as the second prosecution witness (PW-2), was led in evidence by Ekele Iheanacho, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) counsel, before Emeka Nwite (Justice).
He testified in the ongoing trial of Halima Buba, managing director of SunTrust Bank, and Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Executive Director and Chief Compliance Officer, both of whom are facing charges of money laundering to the tune of $12 million.
The duo were arraigned by the EFCC on June 13 on a six-count charge bordering on alleged facilitation of high-value cash transactions without routing them through a financial institution, contrary to the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
They pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of ₦100 million each, with one surety in like sum.
At the resumed hearing, Usman, a Bureau De Change operator and businessman, told the court that he was contacted in April 2025 by one Suleiman Ciroma, who requested a $3 million transfer to Achimugu’s company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.
“Ciroma contacted me that he had a transaction requiring three million US dollars to be transferred to Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.
“I had the money in my company account, Triple A and Tee Oil and Gas Nigeria Ltd, and after we agreed, he gave me the dollar payment in cash. I then transferred the equivalent amount into Oceangate’s account,” Usman said.
The witness said the payment was made in four tranches in April 2025 but could not recall the specific dates.
He further testified that he did not know or have any prior dealings with the defendants, Buba and Mbagwu.
When asked by the EFCC counsel whether his Bureau De Change firm, Triple A and Tee BDC Ltd, was used in the transaction, Johnson Usman, defence counsel representing the first defendant, objected, arguing that the prosecution was attempting to lead the witness.
Justice Nwite sustained the objection and directed the prosecutor to rephrase the question.
Usman admitted that at the time of the transaction, the licence of Triple A and Tee BDC Ltd had been suspended, hence he used his oil and gas company account for the transfer because that was where he had the available dollars.
“The cash transaction from Ciroma was made through my staff, Abdulkadir Mohammed and Kabir Haruna. The naira equivalent was transferred into the account of Triple A and Tee Service Venture Ltd and then converted to dollars before being sent to Oceangate’s account,” he added.
Under cross-examination, the witness confirmed that although his BDC licence was suspended, his firm continued operations and had since received approval-in-principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He also confirmed making a profit from the transaction but said he did not inform the defendants that his BDC licence was inactive. When asked by defence counsel if the decision to use his oil and gas company’s account was his personal choice, Usman replied, “Yes.”
M.S. Ibrahim, second defence counsel, asked whether he informed the defendants that the inflow would come from an oil company account, and the witness admitted he did not.
After his testimony, the court discharged the witness, and Justice Nwite adjourned the case to December 10 and 11 for continuation of trial.
Earlier in the trial, Suleiman Ciroma, owner of Funnacle BDC Ltd and the first prosecution witness (PW-1), told the court that Mrs. Achimugu requested the $3 million transfer because depositing such cash directly into a bank would have triggered restrictions under money laundering regulations.
Ciroma, who is also a member of the BDC Traders Association in Abuja’s Wuse Zone 4, said: “If she had deposited the money in cash, she would not be able to transfer it. So, after receiving the cash from her representatives, I and my partners transferred the dollar equivalent, less our commission to the account she designated.”
He confirmed that the funds were intended for the purchase of two oil blocks and that all transfers were made from accounts that had corresponding inflows, not cash deposits.
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During cross-examination, Ciroma admitted that he had never met the defendants personally and had no phone or chat records showing communication with them.
He also acknowledged that his BDC licence had expired at the time of the transactions but said he never disclosed that to the bank officials.
The EFCC alleges that Buba and Mbagwu, as senior executives of SunTrust Bank, knowingly facilitated suspicious transactions in breach of Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws.
