Supreme Court Confirms N1.5bn Forfeiture Linked to Ogidan

On June 19, 2026, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, led by Justice Habeeb Abiru, affirmed the final forfeiture of N1.582 billion linked to Steve Ogidan, a former national coordinator for the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL). The decision followed a unanimous ruling by a five-man panel, which upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal made on June 20, 2025.

The Court of Appeal had ruled that the lower court acted within the law regarding the forfeiture of the funds, which were suspected to have been acquired through illegitimate activities, specifically bribery. Ogidan's appeal was dismissed as unmeritorious, and he was ordered to pay N5 million in costs.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had previously secured an interim forfeiture order on February 5, 2024, leading to the final forfeiture after Ogidan's appeal was rejected on April 10, 2025.