Stakeholders and experts in the banking sector are inquiring how a substantial sum of $7 million found its way into the vault of Providus Bank, Ikoyi branch, without proper documentation.
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The question follow a final forfeiture of the said sum to the federal government of Nigeria, following an application moved in court by counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo, and granted by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, September 15.
According to reports, the EFCC had approached the court seeking the forfeiture of the said $7 million after it was allegedly found in the account of the Managing Director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, Dr. Aisha Sulaiman Achimugu.
Although Achimugu, who is being investigated by the EFCC, acknowledged that she took a loan of $7 million from Providus Bank, she refuted the notion that she took any money to the financial institution.
In a statement sent to The Octopus News, the management of Felak Group denied that Achimugu or its subsidiary Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas were connected to the alleged transaction.
“We categorically state that neither Dr. (Mrs.) Achimugu nor Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas has any connection whatsoever to the alleged transaction,” the statement read.
Further, the statement noted in part that, “The attempt to link our principal and subsidiary to this matter is unfounded, misleading, and without any factual basis, and represents a gross abuse of free expression.”
The organization described itself as a responsible corporate institution, with transparency, ethical business practices and excellence as its key attributes, reiterating its unwavering commitment to always protecting its name, its people and its legacy.
The position of both Achimugu and Felak Group leaves confusion, as the question of how the money got to the bank remains unanswered, especially as only Providus Bank Limited can provide the answer. The situation is made more complicated by an EFCC investigator, Emmanuel Okeibunor, who swore in an affidavit that Providus Bank Limited did not file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) to the Nigeria Fraud Intelligence Unit (NFIU), despite knowing the standard.
Narrating how the investigation into the money started, Okeibunor said the EFCC received a credible report alleging that $7 million was in suspicious circumstances, conveyed to and kept in the Providus Bank branch.
Further, he noted that the report was assigned to his team to analyse and — if found credible — proceed on investigation. Okeibunor said the investigation revealed that the sum was not credited to any known customers’ account, but rather surreptitiously kept in the bank’s vault.
He said some of the bank’s staff interviewed had alleged that the money was brought to the bank for and on behalf of the managing director, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited.
“My team interviewed the managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, in respect of the seven million dollars, who insisted that she did not take any money to Providus Bank,” Okeibunor said.
“My team was equally informed by the managing director of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited that she took a loan of seven million dollars from Providus Bank Limited, which she has yet to pay back to the bank.
“That Providus Bank Limited did not file a suspicious transaction report (STR) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in respect of this transaction.
“That the funds sought to be forfeited are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity, as they did not represent known, provable, and legitimate income of either Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, the couriers, or officials of Providus Bank Limited.
“The funds sought to be forfeited are also reasonably suspected to have been abandoned, as nobody came forward to claim the funds from the Providus Bank Limited or the commission that recovered the same,” Okeibunor said.
The facts of Okeibunor’s affidavit speak volumes, as it appears that the bank accepted the money but refused to file a STR to the NFIU.
Interestingly, Nigerians who have been monitoring the development have been questioning Providus Bank. Some of the questions being asked include how a financial institution can accept the said sum into its vault instead of depositing it into the owner’s domiciliary account. It is important to ask why Providus Bank Limited didn’t filed an STR to NFIU, knowing that the transaction is against the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), EFCC, and ICPC.
Most importantly, why is the EFCC not prosecuting any key compliance officers of the Providus Bank or has no crime been committed?
Meanwhile, netizens have also taken to the social media X to air their view on the development.
Reacting to how the money was secretly kept in Providus Bank’s vault, a banker with the name Toma To Shun with the handle @Tmama_Toma wrote: “This country will NEVER be better! Just imagine the amount of money unclaimed by no one ($7m).”
A youth group, Youth in Progress, tweeted: “This Providus $7M saga exposes how institutional lapses erode trust: rules ignored, insiders complicit, and public oversight weak. Real accountability starts with citizens—mass turnout secures ballots; thugs fear crowds more than police. Elections decide who enforces the law and shapes governance, the economy, and public ethics. Vote starts change; safeguarding it is citizen work; apathy invites manipulation. Remember: Apathy built this present. If you don’t vote, glitch will vote for you. Get your PVC.”
On his part, Mazino wondered why Providus Bank is still operating as a financial institution, even as he urged the CBN to withdraw the license of the tier 2 bank.
“Why is Providus still operating as a bank after such illegal dealings, and why has the CBN not retrieved its licence to operate as a bank?” he tweeted.
Nigerians await the actions or otherwise of the EFCC in relation to the transaction, even as observers are keen to know if no Providus Bank staff would be held responsible for this crime.
