- Supreme Court Confirm Final Forfeiture of N1.58bn Wey Link to Former NIRSAL Consultant
The Supreme Court don finally uphold order wey make N1.582 billion wey investigators link to former National Coordinating Consultant of the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Steve Ogidan, become property of the Federal Government.
The judgment, wey the five-member panel of the apex court deliver on Friday, June 19, 2026, support earlier decisions of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Justice Habeeb Adewale Abiru, wey lead the panel, rule say Steve Ogidan case no get merit. As a result, the court dismiss the appeal and order am to pay the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) N5 million as cost of the legal action.
According to the court, Ogidan and some of the other people involved had already voluntarily return the money during an out-of-court settlement. The Supreme Court say that action further confirm say the trial court do the right thing by approving the final forfeiture.
The case begin after EFCC investigation raise strong suspicion say Ogidan collect huge sums through illegal activities, including collecting bribes from consultants wey e suppose monitor and supervise under NIRSAL.
Based on the findings, EFCC lawyer, Ndeh Godspower Isotu, approach the Federal High Court in Abuja to seek forfeiture of the funds.
On February 5, 2024, Justice I. E. Ekwo grant interim forfeiture order for the money, before later approving final forfeiture.
Ogidan later challenge the decision, arguing before the Court of Appeal say the trial court wrongly apply Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud Act to forfeit the money to the Federal Government.
However, the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment delivered on June 20, 2025 by a panel led by Justice Okon Abang, dismiss the appeal and uphold the trial court judgment.
Still dissatisfied, Ogidan move the matter to the Supreme Court, but the apex court also reject the appeal and affirm the earlier rulings.
Meanwhile, EFCC investigation further reveal say between December 2015 and June 2021, eight companies linked to Steve Ogidan receive a total of ₦9.599 billion from NIRSAL.
The companies include Successory Nigeria Limited, Beresh Consulting Limited, Blue Accord Nigeria Limited, Global Knowledge Consulting Limited, Freshvine Agribiz Limited, Richtigen Limited, O Stevens Consulting, Proteus and Enterprise Aesthetics.
The anti-graft agency maintain say the investigation and court judgments show commitment to recover public funds believed to have been acquired through unlawful means.
