Otudeko jets out to London as EFCC moves to arraign him, others

Former FBN Holdings Chairman Oba Otudeko, in the middle of a N12.3 billion advanced fee fraud suit alongside three others, has flown to London ahead of his arraignment planned for Monday.

A source familiar with his itinerary told PREMIUM TIMES Friday that he flew out of Lagos on Thursday on a British Airways flight to London.

Insiders close to the heart of the matter at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the prosecutor, said they are not aware of the development.

The arraignment would proceed as scheduled on Monday with the three others, but they added that if Mr Otudeko fails to show up in court, the commission would seek a bench warrant for his arrest.

The anti-corruption agency opened a can of worms on Thursday after filing various charges against him, including falsification, diversion of loan proceeds and fraud.

Bisi Onasanya, who was the CEO of FBN Holdings during part of the time when Mr Otudeko was chairman, and Soji Akintayo, a former director of Honeywell Flour Group and Anchorage Leisure Limited, are co-defendants in the case.

Mr Otudeko holds the controlling stake in Honeywell Flour Mills, listed in Lagos.

Background

One of the most alarming revelations from filing the charges at the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Thursday was the allegation that the four acquired Honeywell Flour Mills for N1.5 billion from proceeds of unlawful activities in December 2013.

Both Mr Otudeko and Mr Onasanya were said to have procured one Abiodun Olatunji and Raymond Eze to move N6.2 billion from “proceeds of unlawful activities” to an account of Stallion Nigeria domiciled with First BANK.

The duo also were alleged to procure Mr Olatunji and Eze to transfer N2.1 billion from an account of Stallion Nigeria Limited with First Bank to Emmerado Logistics Limited’s account with First City Monument Bank.

“Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo and Anchorage Leisure Limited on or about the third day of September 2013 in Lagos and within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court made a forged document titled AUTHORISATION TO ISSUE INVESTMENT CERTIFICATE TO FIRST BANK,” the prosecution stated.

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According to the EFCC, the four defendants intended that First Bank may use the certificate under the impression that the document was genuine and came from V-Tech Links Dynamic Limited.

In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria ousted Mr Otudeko from the financial services group’s chairmanship for violating the institution’s corporate governance principles.

The regulator cited his role in the unlawful removal of Adesola Adeduntan, the then-CEO of the institution.

The far-reaching shake-up also led to the dismissal of the entire board of First Bank, the commercial banking subsidiary of the group.