The Supreme Court has upheld the forfeiture of N1.582 billion linked to Steve Ogidan, a former National Coordinating Consultant of the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), to the Federal Government.
The apex court, in a judgment delivered on June 19, 2026, dismissed Ogidan’s appeal challenging the forfeiture order and affirmed the decisions of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
The five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Habeeb Adewale Abiru, held that the lower courts acted within the provisions of the law in ordering the forfeiture of the funds.
The court described Ogidan’s appeal as lacking merit and consequently ordered him to pay the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) N5 million as the cost of the action.
Justice Abiru further observed that Ogidan and other affected parties had voluntarily returned the disputed funds as part of an out-of-court settlement, a development the court said reinforced the validity of the forfeiture order.
The EFCC had alleged that investigations uncovered evidence suggesting that the N1.582 billion was acquired through illicit means, including alleged bribes received from consultants under Ogidan’s supervision.
Acting on the findings, the anti-graft agency, through its counsel, Ndeh Godspower Isotu, approached the Federal High Court in Abuja for the forfeiture of the funds.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court granted an interim forfeiture order on February 5, 2024, which was later followed by a final forfeiture order.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Ogidan approached the Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial court wrongly relied on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act in ordering the forfeiture.
However, the appellate court, in a unanimous judgment delivered on June 20, 2025, dismissed the appeal and affirmed the decision of the trial court.
Investigations by the EFCC also revealed that between December 2015 and June 2021, eight companies linked to Ogidan received a cumulative sum of N9.59 billion from NIRSAL.
The companies identified by the commission 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 Supreme Court judgment effectively brings to an end the legal dispute over the forfeiture of the N1.582 billion linked to the former NIRSAL consultant.
