The EFCC has filed 13 charges against Oba Otudeko and others for allegedly obtaining over N30 billion in fraudulent loans from First Bank between 2013 and 2014. The charges highlight misrepresentation, with witnesses including EFCC investigators and financial representatives. The trial is set to begin on Monday.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a 13-count charge against Oba Otudeko, former chairman of First Bank Nigeria Holdings, and three others for alleged fraudulent activities involving loans exceeding N30 billion.
The defendants include Stephen Onasanya, a former group managing director of First Bank; Soji Akintayo, a former board member of Honeywell Flour Mills; and Anchorage Limited, a company associated with Otudeko.
According to the charges filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the accused reportedly secured multiple loans from First Bank between 2013 and 2014 under pretenses. The loans were allegedly obtained by misrepresenting their purpose, with sums including N12.3 billion, N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.1 billion, and N1.5 billion purportedly applied for by other companies such as V-Tech Dynamic Links Limited and Stallion Nigeria Limited.
The EFCC claims the defendants conspired to use these firms as fronts to secure credit facilities, knowing the representations to be false. These actions reportedly violate the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act of 2006.
Twelve witnesses, including EFCC investigators and representatives from First Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and implicated companies, are expected to testify during the trial.
This case follows revelations in 2024 when a former First Bank relationship manager disclosed that loans granted in the names of other firms were funneled to entities tied to Otudeko. The arraignment is set for Monday.
