The 13-count case against Oba Otudeko, the former chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), was dismissed by the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Oba Otudeko, former First Bank MD Bisi Onasanya, former Honeywell board member Soji Akintayo, and a company called Anchorage Leisure Ltd were previously charged with 13 counts by the EFCC for allegedly stealing N12.3 billion, N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.1 billion, and N1.5 billion from First Bank under the pretense that the money was secured by other businesses.
After Rotimi Oyedepo, the attorney for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), withdrew the case, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke knocked down the allegations on Wednesday.
The senior advocate went on to say that following a careful examination of the numerous accusations and correspondence from the bank confirming that the depositors’ funds that are the focus of the charge have been fully recovered and returned to its treasury, the EFCC and the Attorney General of the Federation, who originally called the settlement talks, had decided to drop the charges.
“The AGF decided, under Section 180 of the ACJA, to withdraw the charge after carefully reviewing the allegations and taking into account that the depositor funds involved in the charge have been fully recovered and returned to First Bank’s treasury,” Mr. Oyedepo submitted.
Bode Olanipekun, SAN, the first defendant’s attorney, also attested to the fact that the disputed funds—which were purportedly loans—had been paid back in full.
The judge was told by Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, who was defending the second defendant, that they had been invited to a meeting where it was made clear that the issue only involved the first defendant and the nominal complainant.
The third defendant’s attorney, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), agreed with the second defendant’s stance, while the fourth defendant’s attorney, Elija Akefe, said he had no issues with the charges being dropped.
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