The Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has scheduled January 20, 2025, for the arraignment of Chief Oba Otudeko, Chairman of Honeywell Group, and Stephen Onasanya, former Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria, over allegations of a N12.3 billion fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has charged Otudeko, Onasanya, former Honeywell Flour Mills board member Soji Akintayo, and Anchorage Leisure Limited—a company linked to Otudeko—with a 13-count indictment involving fraudulent activities between 2013 and 2014.
Allegations and Charges
According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly misappropriated funds in multiple transactions, including amounts of N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.150 billion, N1.5 billion, and N500 million. The commission also accused them of forging documents to deceive the bank.
One of the charges reads:
“That you, Chief Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo, and Anchorage Leisure Limited, on or about December 11, 2013, in Lagos, procured Honeywell Flour Mills Plc to retain N1.5 billion, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of your unlawful activities, to wit: obtaining by false pretense, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 18(c), 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.”
Legal Proceedings
The EFCC filed the charges on January 16, 2025, through its counsel, Bilikisu Buhari. The arraignment will take place before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The case highlights renewed efforts by the EFCC to tackle high-profile financial crimes and bring perpetrators to justice.