 has filed a 13-count charge against Oba Otudeko, former chairman of FBN Holdings, and three others over alleged N12.3 billion fraud.){kind=link}
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a 13-count charge against Oba Otudeko, former chairman of FBN Holdings, and three others over alleged N12.3 billion fraud.
The other defendants are Stephen Onasanya, former First Bank managing director; Soji Akintayo, ex-board member of Honeywell Flour Mills; and Anchorage Leisure Limited, a company linked to Mr. Otudeko.
They are scheduled to appear before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke at the Federal High Court in Lagos on January 20.
Mr. Otudeko owns 8.7% of FBN Holdings through Barbican Capital, making him the second-largest shareholder after Femi Otedola, who controls 13.6%, or 5.4 billion shares.
The two businessmen have been locked in a power struggle for control of the bank.
In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria removed Mr. Otudeko as chairman, citing corporate governance breaches. The action came after Mr. Otedola surpassed him in shareholding.
Last week, Mr. Otudeko demanded reinstatement as a director and the removal of Mr. Otedola.
Mr. Otudeko also holds a controlling stake in Honeywell Flour Mills, listed on the Nigerian Exchange.
Fraud charges
This high-profile fraud case follows a related testimony in August 2024, when a former relationship manager at First Bank disclosed to the National Industrial Court that loans worth billions of naira were transferred to companies connected to Mr Otudeko under the guise of other firms.
The case is registered as FHC/L/20C/2025. According to the anti-graft agency, the charges relate to obtaining loans under false pretences and money laundering offenses between 2013 and 2014.
In the charge sheet filed on January 16, 2025, seen by Pluboard, the EFCC alleged that the defendants fraudulently secured multiple tranches of loans from First Bank, including sums of N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.15 billion, N1.5 billion, and N500 million.
The loans were purportedly granted to companies such as V-Tech Dynamic Links Limited and Stallion Nigeria Limited, but the funds were allegedly diverted for personal use.
Count one of the charges states that the defendants conspired to obtain N12.3 billion from First Bank under the false representation that the sum was a credit facility applied for by V-Tech Dynamic Links Limited and Stallion Nigeria Limited.
This act, according to the EFCC, violates Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
Another charge accuses Mr Otudeko and his co-defendants of procuring Honeywell Flour Mills Plc to retain N1.5 billion, which the agency claims was part of the proceeds of unlawful activities.
Additional counts involve allegations of forgery and the altering of documents, including a forged letter of application and an authorization to issue an investment certificate to First Bank.
The defendants are also charged with transferring substantial sums of money linked to fraudulent accounting. In one instance, N6.2 billion was transferred to Stallion Nigeria Limited’s account, while another count details the transfer of N2.09 billion from Stallion’s account to Emmerado Logistics Limited.
The EFCC asserts that these actions contravene various provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, and the Miscellaneous Offences Act. The agency has prepared 12 witnesses for the trial, including investigators and representatives from First Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Stallion Nigeria, and V-Tech Dynamic Links Limited.
Mr Otudeko and the other defendants could not be immediately reached for comments.
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