Businesswoman Aisha Achimugu was taken into custody by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the early hours of Tuesday upon her arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Sources said that Achimugu, who had just flown in from London, was apprehended around 5 a.m., marking a dramatic turn in her ongoing case with the anti-graft agency.
The EFCC had declared her wanted in March over allegations of criminal conspiracy and money laundering.
Just a day before her arrest, Justice I.E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had issued an order mandating her to present herself at the EFCC’s office on Tuesday and to appear before the court on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
Her legal counsel, Chief Chikaosolu Ojukwu has confirmed the arrest, expressing dismay over the EFCC’s actions, and argued that the arrest contravened the court’s directive.
“My client returned to the country voluntarily in good faith, based on a formal undertaking to honour the EFCC’s invitation,” Ojukwu stated. “Despite this, she was picked up at the airport, which amounts to a clear violation of her rights.”
The lawyer further revealed that Achimugu has embarked on a hunger strike to protest what she describes as an unjust detention adding, “She is a prisoner of conscience,” he declared.
