Keypoints
- The EFCC secured a final forfeiture order for a Hawker private jet 125 valued over links to corruption in the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project.
- Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered the ruling on Monday following an application by the anti-graft agency.
- Investigations revealed the aircraft was purchased using a $2.07 million payment routed through a Bureau De Change operator via forged invoices.
- The interested party, Abdulsalam Mustapha Kachallah, failed to demonstrate the lawful origin of the funds used to purchase the asset.
- The underlying fraud involved the sale of privileged bidding information to China Machinery Engineering Company under a $114 million contract scheme.
Main Story
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, May 18, 2026, secured a final forfeiture order of a Hawker private Jet 125 before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja over its link to fraud, corruption and money laundering regarding the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project, MEPP.
The aircraft, with model number 800XP, serial number 258553 and registration number 5N-AMK, was forfeited following an application by the EFCC.
The report indicated that the court had earlier granted an interim forfeiture order on November 13, 2025, allowing interested parties an opportunity to show cause why the asset should not be permanently lost to the state.
Valiente Jet Limited, a company owned by Alhaji Abdulsalam Mustapha Kachallah, contested the seizure through affidavits.
However, the presiding judge ruled that the defense failed to provide any credible evidence detailing the legitimate source of the acquisition funds, noting that the disguised transaction structure involving an unwitting Bureau De Change operator confirmed the illicit nature of the purchase.
The Issues
- Public officials serving on state regulatory and project steering committees used inside access to compromise competitive international procurement biddings.
- Foreign engineering firms funneled multi-million dollar inducements through local shell companies under the guise of fake technical subcontracts.
- Bureau De Change operators continue to be utilized as financial conduits to move illicit state contract revenues across international borders into foreign corporate accounts.
What’s Being Said
- “The interested party has not demonstrated with evidence the lawful origin of the funds used to purchase the aircraft,” held Justice Emeka Nwite during the final forfeiture ruling.
- Justice Nwite added that the disguised manner of acquisition using a Bureau De Change operator “who denied knowledge of the nature of the transaction further lent credence to the unlawfulness of the entire transaction.”
- According to an affidavit deposed by EFCC investigator Aminu Abdullahi, the commission “received intelligence bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and money laundering involving Kachallah.”
- The investigator noted that Kachallah “used his position and relationship with officials of the NNPCL to engage in illicit dealings connected to the project.”
- The anti-graft agency established that Kachallah “entered into unlawful agreements with China Machinery Engineering Company, CMEC, through companies in which he had substantial interest, and sold privileged bidding information relating to the project in exchange for financial inducements.”
What’s Next
- The Federal Government will take physical possession of the Hawker 800XP aircraft through the asset recovery department of the EFCC.
- The EFCC will proceed with the criminal prosecution of the principal suspects involved in the Maiduguri Emergency Power Project procurement breach.
- Regulatory bodies may review oversight mechanisms governing foreign contractors like China Machinery Engineering Company to enforce compliance with national anti-corruption laws.
Bottom Line The permanent forfeiture of the 5N-AMK private jet marks a major victory for federal asset recovery efforts, exposing how a public official leveraged a $114 million power project steering position to trade insider bidding data for cross-border financial kickbacks.
