January 16, (THEWILL) – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has filed a 13-count charge of fraud amounting to billions of naira against the Chairman of Honeywell Group, Chief Oba Otudeko, and three others.
The defendants include Stephen Onasanya, a former Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Soji Akintayo, a former Honeywell board member, and Anchorage Leisure Limited.
The charges, filed by EFCC counsel Bilikisu Buhari, were submitted at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants conspired to defraud First Bank Limited using forged documents and fraudulent claims to secure credit facilities.
According to the charge sheet, marked *FHC/L/20C/2025*, the EFCC accused Otudeko and the others of conspiring “to obtain the sum of N12.3 billion from First Bank Limited on the pretense that the said sum represented credit facilities applied for by V-Tech Dynamic Links Limited and Stallion Nigeria Limited, which representation you know to be false.”
The anti-graft agency further alleged that the defendants fraudulently obtained N5.2 billion and N6.2 billion from First Bank Limited in November 2013 and between 2013 and 2014, respectively, under the guise of credit facilities.
Additionally, the EFCC claimed the defendants misappropriated N6.15 billion from the funds. These acts, according to the commission, 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.
The EFCC also leveled charges under the Money Laundering Act, 2011 (as amended).
The defendants were accused of causing Honeywell Flour Mills Plc to retain N1.5 billion in December 2013, funds allegedly linked to unlawful activities.
The EFCC further alleged that the defendants converted N500 million in December 2013 for the use of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, knowing the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
The commission alleged that the defendants forged documents, including a “Letter of Application” and an “Authorization to Issue Investment Certificate to First Bank,” which they presented to the bank as genuine documents from V-Tech Dynamic Links Limited.
The EFCC stated that these actions contravene Sections 3(6) and 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and are punishable under the same Act.
The EFCC specifically accused Otudeko of having a personal interest in a N6.15 billion loan facility sought by V-Tech Dynamic Links Limited while serving as Chairman of First Bank Plc in September 2013. The anti-graft agency alleged that Otudeko failed to disclose this interest, in violation of Section 18(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2004.
The four defendants are scheduled to appear before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Monday, January 20, for arraignment.
The EFCC has reiterated its commitment to holding individuals accountable for financial crimes and ensuring transparency within Nigeria’s financial institutions.
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