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A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the permanent forfeiture of a Hawker 800XP private jet allegedly traced to proceeds of corruption, fraud and money laundering linked to the controversial Maiduguri Emergency Power Project (MEPP).
MEPP is a multi billion naira and multi million dollar contract awarded under the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, delivered the ruling on Monday after dismissing objections filed by Valiente Jet Limited, a company linked to businessman and former Borno State Rural Electrification Board Chairman, Abdulsalam Mustapha Kachallah.
The aircraft, a Hawker 125 with registration number 5N-AMK and serial number 258553, was subsequently forfeited to the Federal Government following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti graft agency said the forfeiture forms part of its wider investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the MEPP contracts awarded in 2021.
According to court filings, investigators alleged that Kachallah, who served on the project’s steering committee while holding public office in Borno State, exploited insider access to secure unlawful financial benefits from the contracts awarded under the power project.
The EFCC told the court that the NNPCL awarded contracts under the MEPP valued at about $114.1 million and N23.17 billion.
Investigators alleged that privileged bidding information relating to the contracts was unlawfully shared with China Machinery Engineering Company (CMEC) in exchange for financial inducements.
The commission further alleged that CMEC later secured three contracts worth more than $52.1 million and N20.2 billion under the project.
Investigators claimed that part of the contract proceeds was diverted through Afuwa Integrated Services Limited, a Bureau De Change operator allegedly used as a conduit for laundering funds connected to the project.
According to the EFCC, CMEC transferred $2.07 million into the Stanbic IBTC Bank account of Afuwa Integrated Services Limited on Kachallah’s instruction, with forged invoices allegedly created to falsely present the payments as legitimate subcontracting and consultancy services.
The anti graft agency said the funds were later transferred to Brazil for the purchase of the private jet before ownership documents were allegedly manipulated to transfer the aircraft to Valiente Jet Limited.
Delivering judgment, Justice Nwite held that the interested party failed to provide convincing evidence showing that the funds used to acquire the aircraft came from lawful sources.
“The interested party has not demonstrated with evidence the lawful origin of the funds used to purchase the aircraft,” the judge ruled.
The court also noted that the use of a Bureau De Change operator that allegedly denied knowledge of the transaction strengthened suspicions surrounding the acquisition process.
The case has drawn political attention because Kachallah was a serving public official in Borno State at the time the contracts were awarded and sat on the steering committee supervising the project.
The EFCC argued that his actions breached provisions of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission Act as well as Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) laws.
At the hearing on April 30, 2026, counsel to the EFCC, Iheanacho Ekele SAN and O.S. Ujam, urged the court to lift the corporate veil around the companies allegedly used in the transactions, arguing that fraud and illegality justified holding individuals behind the firms accountable.
The prosecution relied on judicial authorities including Oyebanji v State to support its position that corporate entities cannot shield fraudulent conduct.
Kachallah’s legal team, led by M.E. Oru SAN, argued that the businessman should not be personally liable for transactions involving separate corporate entities and challenged the admissibility of some of the EFCC’s documentary evidence.
However, the court sided with the EFCC and ordered the final forfeiture of the aircraft to the Federal Government.
The ruling marks one of the most high profile asset forfeitures connected to the ongoing scrutiny of contracts awarded under emergency intervention projects in Nigeria’s power and petroleum sectors.
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