The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a Lagos-based businessman, Andrew Odekina, before the Special Offences Court in Ikeja over an alleged ₦9.8 million fraud.
Odekina was brought before Justice Mojisola Dada on a one-count charge of retaining proceeds of crime, contrary to Section 17(a) and (b) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.
According to the prosecution, the defendant, along with other individuals still at large, allegedly received and retained ₦9,873,215.00 in his account with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) in 2025.
The prosecution further stated that the funds were part of a larger sum exceeding ₦3.09 billion, allegedly siphoned from customers’ accounts domiciled in the bank through unauthorised access and manipulation of banking applications.
The charge reads: “That you Andrew Odekina and other persons at large, sometime in 2025 at Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court received into your FCMB account number 21016691841 and retained control of the sum of N9,873,215 (Nine Million, Eight hundred and Seventy-three thousand, Two hundred and Fifteen Naira), money which forms part of N3, 091,441.849 (Three Billion, Ninety-one Million, Four hundred and Forty-one Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty-Nine Naira) stolen from accounts domiciled with FCMB, through unauthorised access and fraudulent activities on their bank applications”.
When the charge was read in court, the defendant pleaded not guilty, paving the way for trial.
Following the plea, prosecution counsel, Babatunde Sonoiki, asked the court to fix a trial date and requested that the defendant be remanded in a correctional facility pending the outcome of the case.
Odekina, however, appeared in court without legal representation, raising concerns about his defence at the early stage of the proceedings.
In her ruling, Justice Dada adjourned the case until May 11, 2026, for the commencement of trial and ordered that the defendant be remanded in a correctional centre pending the hearing.
