A Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has adjourned judgment in the N960m, investment fraud case involving Edu Hub Consults Limited and its Managing Director, Mma Anyanso, to November 21, 2025.

Justice Mojisola Dada on Wednesday fixed the date after she was informed of a plea bargain entered by the defendant.

Anyanso is standing trial on an amended charge of stealing and obtaining money under false pretence. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission accused him and his company of diverting investors’ funds meant for legitimate business purposes to personal use.

The amended charge, dated August 21 2025,and filed on September 29, 2025, alleged that between July 18 and September 14, 2020, Edu Hub Consults Limited dishonestly converted N960 m, belonging to investors under the guise of a profitable investment scheme.

The alleged offences contravene Section 278(1)(b)(ii) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The EFCC further claimed that the defendants used part of the funds to acquire luxury properties, including an apartment at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos.

An EFCC operative, Chinedu Peters, attached to the Commission’s Cybercrime Section, testified that the agency received credible intelligence in 2020 about suspicious investment activities operating from Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island.

Acting on this information, investigators visited the location and arrested several suspects, including Anyanso.

Peters told the court that the defendant voluntarily admitted being the Managing Director of Edu Hub Consults Limited and, The Map Online Limited, both of which collected money from members of the public under the pretext of investment opportunities.

He added that a letter sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed that neither company was licensed to receive or manage investment funds from the public.

Investigations, according to him, revealed that Edu Hub Consults Limited and, The Map Online Limited received various sums from over 2,300 investors, promising high returns based on the investment category.

The EFCC operative said the scheme collapsed after a few months of payouts, and the funds were diverted for personal use, including purchasing properties in Lagos and Abuja.

Peters also testified that while on administrative bail, the defendant made partial restitution to about 945 investors but still owed approximately N1.2 bn.

He added that Anyanso later wrote to the EFCC expressing willingness to enter into a plea bargain, in a letter dated September 29, 2025.

The prosecution urged the court to convict the defendant, insisting that the evidence established deliberate fraudulent conduct.

However, defence counsel, Dr. Suleiman Usman (SAN), pleaded for leniency, arguing that the defendant acted in good faith and had cooperated with investigators.

“The defendant believed the business was genuine,” Usman said.

“He has made substantial efforts to refund investors and surrendered properties to offset the outstanding balance.”

He urged the court to temper justice with mercy and consider a non-custodial sentence.

After listening to both counsel, Justice Dada adjourned the case until November 21, 2025, for judgment.

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced one Samuel Asiegbu to three years’ imprisonment without an option of fine for his role in an N8.56bn fraud carried out at Wema Bank Nigeria Plc.

Asiegbu was arraigned alongside Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, and Alhaji Sulaiman (now at large) on four counts bordering on conspiracy, stealing, and unauthorised access to a computer system, preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The defendants were first arraigned on June 23, 2025, and had initially pleaded not guilty.

However, Asiegbu later changed his plea to guilty, leading to his conviction and sentencing, while the trial continues for the other defendants.

The EFCC told the court that Asiegbu, Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, Alhaji Sulaiman (at large), and others at large, sometime in January 2025, conspired amongst themselves without authorisation and accessed the computer systems of Wema Bank Nigeria Plc to steal money.

The prosecution counsel also told the court that the convicts, Hamza Zakaria, Nurudeen Ibrahim, Alhaji Sulaiman (at large), and others at large, sometime in January 2025, had unauthorised access to the Wema Bank computer and server with the intent to facilitate the stealing of an aggregate sum of N8,568,090,500 from accounts domiciled at Wema Bank Nigeria Plc.

According to the prosecution counsel, the offences committed contravened Sections 409 and 386 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

In his judgment, Justice Oshodi sentenced Asiegbu to 10 months and eight days’ imprisonment on count three and 1 year and 8 months on count four, both without an option of fine.

The judge held that the sentences are to run concurrently, bringing his total jail term to three years.

The court also struck out counts one and two.

Consequently, Justice Oshodi adjourned the case to November 14, 2025, for further trial of the remaining defendants.

Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has warned Nigerian lawyers against aiding money laundering and other financial crimes, describing such conduct as unethical and detrimental to the country’s fight against corruption.

Speaking at the Canada-Nigeria Legal exchange  at the International Bar Association conference  held at the Intercontinental Toronto Centre on Monday, Olukoyede said the EFCC had prosecuted several senior lawyers found complicit in laundering illicit funds for corrupt officials.

He said, “Equally disturbing is the disposition of some in our ranks who have become complicit in money laundering by schooling corrupt Nigerian officials to launder ill-got wealth abroad.

“The Commission has had cause to prosecute very senior lawyers for being accessory to money laundering.”

“We cannot, in one breath, bemoan corruption in our nation and, in another, make our skills available to the corrupt to pillage our common patrimony. Is there no ethics or conscience in practice?” he queried.

The EFCC chairman urged members of the Nigerian diaspora, particularly lawyers in Canada, to play an active role in helping Nigeria overcome its corruption challenge by remaining vigilant and reporting suspicious transactions.

He said, “The diaspora community, especially members of the bar, have crucial roles to play in helping Nigeria overcome the corruption challenge.

“For those of you in Canada, I recommend vigilance. The increasing number of Nigerians migrating to this country points ominously to Canada emerging as another axis for the laundering of ill-got wealth from Nigeria. You will help us prevent this by providing information to law enforcement agencies,” he added.

Olukoyede emphasised that corruption thrives not only through public officials but also through the complicity of professionals who facilitate the movement or concealment of illicit funds.

He said the EFCC would continue to uphold integrity within the legal and financial systems while deepening collaboration with international partners to trace and recover stolen assets.

Olukoyede also disclosed that the anti-graft agency secured 7,503 convictions and recovered N566.3 bn, $411.6 m, and 1,502 properties in the last two years.

Speaking as the special guest of honour, he highlighted the EFCC’s sweeping institutional reforms, renewed emphasis on transparency, and collaborative strides with international law enforcement bodies.

Olukoyede said his tenure as EFCC chairman had been anchored on using the anti-corruption fight to stimulate economic development, enhancing Nigeria’s global reputation, and entrenching accountability across government institutions.

“In all modesty, I came into the job fully conscious of what needs to be done to change the narratives as far as the fight against corruption in our nation is concerned,” he said.

“I consider the anti-corruption fight not as a vocation but as a tool to drive economic growth.”

He revealed that the EFCC has introduced key institutional reforms, including new policies on gift handling, exhibit room security, and sting operations, as well as a restructured bail process to prevent its misuse.

He added that the agency also established several new departments and units, such as the Department of Ethics and Integrity, Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, Digital Transformation and Innovation Unit, International Asset Tracing and Recovery Unit, and a Visa and Migration Fraud Section.

“I also declared my assets upon assuming office and directed all EFCC staff to do the same, and erring officers have been disciplined or dismissed to preserve the agency’s integrity,” he said.

Olukoyede announced that some of the recovered funds, N100bn, have been channelled into national social investment programmes such as the Students Loan Scheme and the Consumer Credit Scheme.

“Agencies like the NDDC, AMCON, FIRS, and the National Health Insurance Authority have also benefited from EFCC’s recovered funds,” he stated.

The EFCC boss cited landmark property recoveries, including 753 duplexes in Lokogoma, Abuja, and Nok University in Kaduna State, which have since been converted to the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia.

On the economic front, Olukoyede said the Commission’s Task Force on Naira Abuse and Dollarisation has supported the Central Bank’s efforts to stabilise the naira by curbing currency racketeering and speculative trading.

He also revealed that EFCC’s cybercrime operations led to the arrest of 792 members of a major foreign-controlled syndicate involved in cryptocurrency and romance scams, with 192 foreign nationals prosecuted and deported.

To redirect youth innovation away from internet fraud, he announced that there has been the creation of a Cybercrime Research Centre within the new EFCC Academy in Abuja, alongside a 24/7 Cybercrime Rapid Response Centre for real-time enforcement.

Olukoyede highlighted the EFCC’s growing international profile, marked by visits from former FBI Director Christopher Wray and UK NCA Director-General Graeme Biggar, and by new partnerships with the Korean Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Spanish Police, and German Police.

He said the Commission had returned assets to fraud victims in Spain, Canada, and the United States, further cementing its credibility abroad.

At the regional level, Olukoyede noted that Nigeria, through the EFCC, now leads the Network of National Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa, where he was recently re-elected chairman for another two-year term.

He also credited the EFCC’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering for playing a “critical role” in getting Nigeria removed from the FATF Grey List.

In his closing remarks, the EFCC boss urged the diaspora community to safeguard Nigeria’s image abroad, noting that the country’s reputation must not be tarnished by the actions of a few dishonest individuals.

“Ultimately, we must work together to ensure that the good reputation which our country currently enjoys in your host country is not tarnished by the actions of a thieving few,” he said.

“Only we can build a nation that the rest of the world will respect. No one else will do that for us.”

Despite the challenges confronting the anti-corruption fight, Olukoyede expressed optimism about Nigeria’s future, reaffirming his belief that the nation will achieve greatness.

“Despite the challenge, I still see Nigeria achieving greatness,” he said.

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