In a gripping session at the Federal High Court in Abuja, a key witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Trinity Usman, disclosed that he received and transferred $3 million into a company account linked to Mrs. Aisha Achimugu.
Usman, the second prosecution witness (PW-2) and a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, testified before Justice Emeka Nwite, stating that the transaction was executed through his oil and gas company account.
> “Sometimes in April 2025, one Suleiman Ciroma contacted me that he has transaction that he needed 3 million US dollars to be transferred to Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd… After we agreed, he gave me the dollar payment in cash. I paid him the dollars into Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd account,” Usman said.
The witness appeared in the ongoing money laundering trial involving Halima Buba, Managing Director of SunTrust Bank, and Innocent Mbagwu, the bank’s Executive Director and Chief Compliance Officer. The duo is standing trial on a six-count charge of facilitating $12 million in high-value cash transactions without following proper financial protocols — an alleged breach of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
During questioning, Usman clarified that the transactions were handled via his firm Triple A and Tee Oil and Gas Nig Ltd, and not through his BDC, which had its license suspended at the time.
> “It was from there I transferred the dollars into Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd,” he told the court.
Under cross-examination, he admitted that Triple A and Tee BDC Ltd had resumed operations after receiving CBN’s approval in principle, though at the time of the transaction, it had no active license. Usman also conceded that he never informed the bank executives involved about the suspended status of his BDC license.
Counsel for Buba, Johnson Usman, SAN, pressed the witness on the legality of using an oil and gas company for currency transactions. The witness confirmed it was his decision to route funds through the oil firm’s account because “it was the account I had available dollars.”
EFCC’s first witness, Suleiman Ciroma, had earlier testified that Aisha Achimugu requested the dollar transfers because she wouldn’t have been able to wire funds if they were deposited in cash.
> “The naira was transferred into Triple A and Tee Service Venture Ltd bank account… then converted into dollars and sent to the Oceangate account,” Usman recounted.
When asked whether Achimugu required the funds to purchase two oil blocks, Ciroma affirmed.
Despite both witnesses admitting they had no personal interactions with the accused bank officials, the prosecution maintains that the transactions violated anti-money laundering regulations.
After the witness was discharged, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to December 10 and 11 for further proceedings.
NAN
