Achimugu Sought $12m Cash Swap Through SunTrust Bank To Buy Oil Block, EFCC Witness Reveals
Ciroma, a businessman and former bureau de change (BDC) operator, confirmed knowing Buba and identified her in court but noted that he had never met Mbagwu in person—only spoken to him by phone.
He submitted a bundle of documents as evidence, detailing how the $12 million was paid out at different branches of SunTrust Bank in Abuja and Lagos between March 10 and March 20.
He said the transaction began when Aisha Achimugu, a businesswoman, contacted him about conducting a forex exchange through the bank.
Ciroma said he called Buba, who confirmed she was aware of the arrangement.
Ciroma said he sent an associate, Tijjani Adamu, to collect the money on behalf of Ashrap Ltd, a company owned by his friend, Hassan Dantani.
He added that on the same day, one Abdulkadir Mohammed picked up another $1 million, while a man identified as Kabiru collected $2 million—also in cash.
Ciroma told the court that the $12 million was converted and credited in tranches to Oceangate Energy Oil & Gas, a company he said is owned by Achimugu, through its Zenith Bank account.
According to him, he made a profit of N15 million from the entire transaction.
When asked about the purpose of the transaction, Ciroma said Achimugu told him she needed the funds to purchase an oil block.
He further testified that Buba coordinated the Abuja transactions while Mbagwu handled those in Lagos.
The EFCC lawyer also tendered WhatsApp chats between Ciroma and Buba, along with a certificate of identification.
Although Johnson Usman and M.S. Ibrahim, defence lawyers, objected to the admissibility of the documents, they deferred their arguments to the final written address.
Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, admitted the evidence and marked it as exhibit P1, then adjourned the trial to July 18 for continuation.
The EFCC is prosecuting Buba and Mbagwu on a six-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of $12 million.
The anti-graft agency alleged that Buba and Mbagwu facilitated the illegal cash movement of millions of dollars on different occasions without routing the transactions through any financial institution, in violation of Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws.
The bank executives pleaded not guilty and met their bail conditions.
