The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has upheld the Federal High Court’s order for the final forfeiture of ₦1.58 billion to the Federal Government in a case involving alleged corruption and money laundering linked to the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, June 20, 2025, the appellate court dismissed the appeals filed by Steve Olusegun Ogidan, a former National Coordinating Consultant to NIRSAL, and Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed, the agency’s former Managing Director. The appellants had challenged the January 22, 2025 ruling of Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which ordered the final forfeiture of the funds.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had secured an interim forfeiture order on February 5, 2024, following investigations into allegations of criminal breach of trust, bribery, and money laundering. Ogidan was accused of receiving illicit payments from consultants he was assigned to monitor, leading to the abandonment of key project deliverables.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Okon Abang held that the appeal lacked merit, affirming that the lower court correctly applied Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act in granting the forfeiture.
The court further noted that Ogidan had, in a voluntary bid to resolve the matter out of court, already returned the forfeited funds through the EFCC—effectively validating the trial court’s decision.
With the appellate court’s ruling, the ₦1,582,000,000 remains permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
