N12.3bn fraud: Otudeko, Onasanya missing, court orders substitution service

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday granted an order for substituted service of charges on Oba Otudeko, Chairman of the Honeywell Group, and Stephen Onasanya, a former Managing Director of First Bank, over alleged N12.3 billion fraud.

The defendants were scheduled for arraignment before Justice C.J. Aneke but were absent. Their lawyers argued that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had not served the charges.

Other defendants in the case, marked FHC/L/20C/2025, include Soji Akintayo, a former Honeywell board member, and Anchorage Leisure Limited, a company allegedly linked to Otudeko. The EFCC accused the defendants of obtaining N12.3 billion from First Bank under false pretenses.

During Monday’s proceedings, counsel for the defendants, including Mr. Bode Olanipekun (SAN) for Otudeko, Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN) for Onasanya, Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN) for Akintayo, and Dr. Charles Adeogun-Philips (SAN) for Anchorage Leisure Limited, all protested the non-service of charges.

Olanipekun explained that they learned about the case from media reports and criticized the EFCC for publicizing the charges before serving his client. He presented newspaper headlines from Friday as evidence.

In response, EFCC prosecutor Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) stated that several attempts had been made to serve the defendants. He then applied for substituted service, which the court granted.

Olumide-Fusika, representing Onasanya, offered to accept service of the charge on behalf of his client. The prosecutor subsequently handed him a copy of the charge sheet in court.

Justice Aneke adjourned the case until February 13, 2025, for arraignment.

The charges, as seen by The PUNCH, allege that the defendants conspired to fraudulently obtain funds from First Bank between 2013 and 2014. Specifically, they are accused of falsely representing credit facilities worth N12.3 billion as being applied for by Tech Dynamic Links Limited and Stallion Nigeria Limited.

The EFCC further alleged that the funds were obtained in tranches, including N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.15 billion, N1.5 billion, and N500 million, under false pretenses. The alleged offenses contravene Section 8(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006, and are punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.