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Oba Otudeko ordered to appear before the Federal High Court to enter his plea by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke.
A Judge of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Nigerian billionaire, Oba Otudeko to appear in person for arraignment over an alleged ₦30 billion fraud.
At the hearing of the case on Monday, the presiding Judge, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke emphasized that Otudeko must be present to enter his plea before any jurisdictional challenges can be addressed.
According to him, “Whatsoever filed by defendant or defendants in a criminal charge can be taken before plea.”
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a 13-count charge against Otudeko, who serves as the Chairman of Honeywell Group, and three other defendants. The charges pertain to allegations of fraud and money laundering related to a ₦12.3 billion loan obtained between 2013 and 2014, and others amounting to N30bn.
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Defense counsel, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), contends that the matter is civil rather than criminal, asserting that the loan has been fully repaid. They have filed applications challenging the court’s jurisdiction, which the judge has deferred until Otudeko’s plea is entered.
The Judge stated, “This court is bound by the cited decisions. So I agree with the prosecution that based on the current state of the law, no application by the defendant in the criminal matter can be taken or determined by the court before arraignment.”
The court has adjourned the case to May 8, 2025, to allow for Otudeko’s appearance.
Background of the case
The fraud suit against Otudeko can be traced back to August 2024, when Adesuwa Ezenwa, a former relationship manager at First Bank, testified before the National Industrial Court that loans worth billions of naira were channeled to companies linked to Otudeko.
The EFCC formally charged Otudeko and three others with alleged financial fraud in January. Others allegedly guilty of the case are Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, a former Group Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria, Soji Akintayo, an ex-board member of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc; and Anchorage Limited, a company associated with Otudeko.
The charge against them was that between 2013 and 2014, the defendants fraudulently secured multiple loan tranches from First Bank, including ₦12.3 billion, ₦5.2 billion, ₦6.2 billion, ₦6.1 billion, and ₦1.5 billion, under the pretense that they were acquired by certain firms.
However, Otudeko flew to London under the guise of a medical illness.
EFCC has been on the fraud matter, and although the defendants stated that they have paid the loans out of court, EFCC insisted that the credit facilities used by the accused were fraudulently obtained between 2013 and 2014.
