Police to arraign Obanikoro’s son Feb 27 over alleged N1.3bn fraud
By Jeffrey Agbo
A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed February 27, 2025, for the arraignment of Gbolahan Obanikoro, son of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and four others over an alleged N1.35 billion fraud.
The other defendants are Adejare Adegbenro, 51; Balmoral International Limited; M.O.B. Integrated Limited; and DDSS International Company Limited. They face a five-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretenses, false representation and fraud.
During the scheduled arraignment last Friday, the defendants failed to appear in court. Prosecution counsel Momoh Bello requested a bench warrant against the absent defendants, claiming they had been served. However, Joshua Abel, counsel for the fourth defendant, opposed the request, stating that the defendants had only recently received notice and some were out of the country.
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Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa noted inconsistencies in the service of court documents and directed the prosecution to ensure proper service on all defendants. He adjourned the case until February 27, 2025, for arraignment.
The defendants are accused of conspiring between May and September 2013 to fraudulently obtain N1,356,057,330.43 from Access Bank Plc (formerly Diamond Bank). Allegedly, they misrepresented their business as importing cars from Dubai for resale in Nigeria, using the funds for personal purposes instead.
The charges, filed by the Inspector General of Police through the Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, Lagos, violate provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offenses Act, 2006, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
