Court of Appeal Upholds N1.5 Billion Forfeiture Against Ex-NIRSAL Consultant Steve Ogidan
Appeal Court upholds forfeiture of ₦1.58bn from ex-NIRSAL consultant over fraud claims.
EFCC wins case as judges rule funds linked to bribes, dismiss appeal for lacking merit.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the final forfeiture of ₦1.582 billion to the federal government from Steve Olusegun Ogidan, a former National Coordinating Consultant of the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
This verdict, delivered on Friday, June 20, 2025, by Justice Okon Abang on behalf of a three-member panel, upholds the January 22, 2025, ruling by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja. The appellate court agreed unanimously with the decision in favor of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), thereby dismissing the appeals filed by Ogidan and his co-defendant, Aliyu Abatti Abdulhameed, former Managing Director of NIRSAL.
Background of the case
The EFCC initiated investigations into Ogidan and Abdulhameed over alleged financial misconduct, including criminal breach of trust, bribery, and money laundering. Ogidan, who was tasked with overseeing consulting services, was accused of receiving bribes from contractors under his supervision, which ultimately led to uncompleted or abandoned projects.
According to the EFCC, Ogidan acquired the ₦1.5 billion through unlawful means while discharging his consultancy role at NIRSAL. Investigators claimed the payments were made to him in exchange for overlooking contract executions, thereby breaching the terms of the government’s agricultural financing and risk-sharing framework.
On February 5, 2024, the EFCC obtained an interim forfeiture order against the amount traced to Ogidan. The final order for forfeiture was then secured in January 2025. However, both Ogidan and Abdulhameed contested the decision and filed appeals challenging the trial court’s application of Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, which empowers courts to order the forfeiture of assets linked to fraud.
Appeal dismissed for lack of merit
The appeals were heard on April 10, 2025, and judgment was reserved until June 20. In delivering the final ruling, Justice Abang stated that the appeals were “devoid of merit” and that the Federal High Court acted correctly in its application of the law. He emphasized that the forfeited funds were indeed connected to illicit activities and reaffirmed the legal basis for their recovery by the state.
A key element of the court’s judgment was that Ogidan had voluntarily returned the money during the investigation phase, as part of an attempt to settle the matter out of court. This, the court said, undermined his claim to the funds and further validated the EFCC case.
What you should know about NIRSAL and the scandal
NIRSAL Plc. is a non-bank financial institution created by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to manage and mitigate credit risks in Nigeria’s agriculture sector. It was designed to improve access to financing for farmers and agribusinesses by redefining how agricultural credit is assessed and priced.
In 2022, then-President Muhammadu Buhari relieved Abdulhameed of his role as Managing Director amid mounting allegations of corruption. Since then, multiple criminal cases involving forgery and money laundering have been filed against him by both the EFCC and Nigeria Police.
The recent ruling strengthens the federal government’s resolve to crack down on corruption within government-backed institutions and restore confidence in its agribusiness credit schemes.
With this decision, the EFCC marks another legal victory in its ongoing efforts to combat economic crimes, especially within institutions meant to drive development and support vulnerable sectors of the Nigerian economy.
