Crime
Court strikes out N12.3bn fraud case against Otudeko after settlement
The Federal High Court in Lagos has struck out the N12.3bn fraud charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against the Chairman of Honeywell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko, and three others, after the anti-graft agency formally withdrew the case on Wednesday.
The EFCC had in suit No. FHC/L/20C/2025, filed 13-count charges against Otudeko, former First Bank Managing Director Olabisi Onasanya, former Honeywell board member Soji Akintayo, and Anchorage Leisure Limited.
The defendants were accused of conspiring to fraudulently obtain N12.3bn from First Bank of Nigeria under the guise of credit facilities for V-TECH Dynamic Links Ltd. and Stallion Nigeria Ltd.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, told Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke
that the matter had been amicably resolved between the nominal complainant, First Bank, and the first defendant, Otudeko.
Oyedepo said, “The parties have reached a full and final settlement.
“First Bank, the nominal complainant, has formally withdrawn its complaint. The funds at the heart of the matter have been fully repaid, and there is no further interest in pursuing the charge.
“In the interest of justice and to prevent abuse of the court process, the Attorney General of the Federation, having reviewed the facts and the full recovery of the disputed funds, decided to discontinue the prosecution.”
According to Oyedepo, following applications for settlement by the defence, the AGF convened a meeting involving all stakeholders.
This led to a formal resolution communicated via a July 16, 2025, letter from First Bank and another from Otudeko’s counsel confirming the settlement.
He stated that a follow-up letter on July 21, 2025, reaffirmed the bank’s position and requested that the charge be withdrawn.
Otudeko’s counsel, Bode Olanipekun, informed the court that “all issues leading to the institution of this charge have been completely resolved.”
Other defence lawyers Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN (for Onasanya), Tunde Afe Babalola (for Akintayo), and Dr. Charles Adeogun-Phillips (for Anchorage Leisure Ltd.) confirmed the amicable settlement.
After hearing the submissions, Justice Aneke ruled, “In view of the application by the prosecution and the confirmation by the defence, this case is hereby struck out.”
In a statement following the court’s ruling, signed by its General Counsel, Olasumbo Abolaji, welcomed the development, describing it as a reaffirmation of Dr. Otudeko’s integrity.
Abolaji said, “Honeywell Group confirms that the legal proceedings initiated by the EFCC against our Chairman, Dr. Oba Otudeko, CFR, in connection with matters relating to First Holdco Plc, have been formally withdrawn.
“This development marks the closure of a chapter that, while challenging, never diminished our confidence in Dr. Otudeko’s integrity or our belief in the principles that have guided his life and leadership.
“At no point was there any finding or admission of wrongdoing, and this conclusion further affirms what we have always maintained that this was a commercial transaction, investigated by the EFCC and resolved eight years ago.
“Dr. Otudeko’s service, enterprise, and nation-building record stand firm and unblemished. For over six decades, he has contributed significantly to Nigeria’s economic and institutional development, including distinguished tenures across banking, industry, and public service. His leadership of First Bank was marked by stability, stewardship, and strategic vision.”
The group reaffirmed its commitment to creating value through enterprise in food, energy, infrastructure, and financial services.
“As we move forward, we do so strengthened by experience, focused on the future, and anchored in the enduring values that have always shaped our journey,” the statement added.
A man identified as David Moses has confessed to the gruesome killing of a school nurse and a 14-month-old child at a school in the Dawaki area of Abuja, blaming his actions on pressure from an alleged accomplice named Sunday, who is currently at large.
Moses, a security guard deployed to the school, made the confession while being interrogated by journalists at the Federal Capital Territory police command on Friday.
He said he and Sunday had planned to kidnap the victims for ransom, initially demanding ₦250 million before settling for ₦3 million.
“What brought me here is that I killed a child with a nurse in Clear Hope School on July 23. Me and my friend, we demanded for ₦250 ransom. Later on, we later settled for ₦3 million. Which we collected,” he said.
According to him, the incident took a violent turn when a dispute over the ransom money broke out between him and Sunday.
He added that he later sought help and eventually confessed to the police after receiving treatment in a hospital.
“When we collected the money and were sharing it, that was when we had an issue. My friend stabbed me with a knife, took the money, and ran away. I struggled and took myself to someone’s house and told the person what was going on. But I didn’t tell the full truth at that time because I was afraid the community might have killed me immediately.
“I insisted on seeing the police so they could take me to the hospital and I could explain the whole story properly. The man told me to wait while he called the police. When the police came, they took me to the hospital. After I received treatment, they began to ask me what happened, and I started narrating the whole story from the beginning.”
Detailing how the school nurse was killed, Moses said she was lured into a trap under the guise of checking something in a toilet, where Sunday allegedly strangled her with a rope.
Moses said, “I went to call her from her class, while Sunday was hiding in the toilet. When I called her, I told her I wanted to show her something near the front toilet where Sunday was hiding. As we were going, he came out from behind and held the woman. He put a rope around her neck and started strangling her she struggled but eventually became weak.”
The child, he said, was later also taken and killed at Sunday’s insistence.
Moses said, “Then he told me to run and go bring the baby so we could also kill the baby. I said no, that the woman alone was enough. He insisted, saying that if we didn’t bring the baby, the ransom we demanded wouldn’t be enough. So, I went and brought the baby.”
When asked how many people he had killed or kidnapped before, he said, “I have never done such a thing. This was the first time someone pushed me into any evil act.”
Probed further on his relationship with the woman and the baby, he said she gave him ₦300 to buy food the day she was killed.
Moses said, “There’s no relationship. The woman was nice to me. In fact, that very day, she gave me ₦300 to buy food. She had been giving me money to eat even before then.”
Zachariah Fiyinfoluwa, a representative of the security company that employed Moses distanced himself from the crime, saying he was only informed of the disappearance of the nurse and child after the school principal raised an alarm.
“I don’t know anybody called Sunday. The person we posted to the school is David,” he said.
However, under questioning, Fiyinfoluwa admitted that the company failed to properly document Moses’ employment, including failing to keep his guarantor’s information.
“For us not to keep the record, I accept that it’s our fault,” he said.
When pressed further on the company’s responsibility, especially for the safety of persons within the premises, Fiyinfoluwa admitted that supervisors were supposed to routinely visit deployment sites but did not confirm if such oversight occurred at Claire Hope School.
In an interview with the Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale said the victims were reported missing on July 23, 2025, from the school the same day, a ransom demand of ₦250 million was made via the caregiver’s phone.
The CP said following an investigation, police operatives arrested Moses, who later confessed to conspiring with his friend, Sunday Irimiya currently at large to carry out the crime.
He said, “On July 23, 2025, the FCT Police Command received a distress report concerning the sudden disappearance of Mrs. Chinyere Anaene, a 55-year-old school nurse and caregiver at Clear Hope Foundation Academy, Dawaki, Abuja, and a toddler identified as Nanenter Asher Yese, aged one year and two months.
“On the same day, the husband of the caregiver received a call on the caregiver’s mobile phone wherein unidentified individuals demanded a ransom of ₦250 million for their release.”
“Despite having killed the victims, they still demanded ₦3 million from the family under the pretence that the victims were alive,” Adewale said.
He said the police have also arrested the school principal, two other security guards, and the Chief Security Officer of the private security company that deployed Moses to the school.
“In the course of our investigation, the police also arrested the school principal, two additional security guards who were meant to be on duty with David Moses, and the Chief Security Officer of the private security company responsible for deploying the guards to the school, ” he said.
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The fine was recommended by Parliament’s Joint Ethics Committee, which found Mashatile in violation of the country’s asset declaration rules.
South Africa Vice President Paul Mashatile has been fined R10,000 by the country’s parliament.
He was fined for failing to declare a diamond gift received from businessman, Louis Liebenberg.
Liebenberg is currently on trial for alleged fraud involving a diamond investment scheme.
The fine was recommended by Parliament’s Joint Ethics Committee, which found Mashatile in violation of the country’s asset declaration rules.
The matter was brought to the committee’s attention by Democratic Alliance (DA) chief whip George Michalakis, who raised concerns after reviewing Mashatile’s asset declarations in March.
In a statement on Thursday, the DA welcomed the committee’s decision and called for a broader investigation into Mashatile’s relationship with Liebenberg.
“There are also questions around the legality of this diamond, its nature, source, and certification,” the party said, adding that both the Vice President and the Department of Justice must provide clarity.
The party also demanded an explanation regarding a reported visit by Liebenberg to Mashatile’s residence in November 2023.
Meanwhile, the Vice President is also under scrutiny over the declaration of two properties valued at R63 million. He has denied ownership, saying the properties belong to his son-in-law.
“People must read. There’s nothing in Parliament that says I own a house. I said I live there. That house is owned by my son-in-law,” Mashatile said in response to questions about the properties. “There is no government money in those houses. So what are you looking for?”
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The Niger State Police Command has arrested a 10-man syndicate in Minna suspected of specialising in the international trafficking of unsuspecting victims, along with 36 undocumented youths of different nationalities.
According to the command’s spokesman, SP Wasiu Abiodun, the syndicate operated under false pretences as travel agents, engaging in the extortion of their victims.
Abiodun revealed that the suspects were arrested on July 18, 2025, at about 12:30 pm, following credible intelligence received about their activities along 123 Quarters, Minna.
Those arrested include Sokou Doumbia, Thiarno Balbe, Hashimu Dauda Kolo, Usman Doumbia, Musa Konate, Lamine Watara, Acine Diouf, Adamu Zarbu, Alhassan Konde and Dango Aminatu.
They were discovered to be nationals of various neighbouring West African countries and primarily spoke French, except for their Nigerian collaborator, Hashimu, who provided accommodation for the syndicate in Minna.
The operation led to the rescue of 36 undocumented youths from countries such as Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
He disclosed that, during interrogation, they claimed to have come to Nigeria for an online business.
All the suspects and victims have been transferred to Interpol for further investigation and other necessary actions.
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