BREAKING: POLICE TO ARRAIGN OBANIKORO’S SON OVER ALLEGED N1.3BN FRAUD
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The arraignment of Gbolahan Obanikoro, son of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and four other individuals in connection with an alleged ₦1.356 billion scam has been scheduled for February 27, 2025, by a Federal High Court in Lagos.
Adejare Adegbenro, 51; Balmoral International Limited; M.O.B. Integrated Limited; and DDSS International Company Limited are among the other individuals who will be arraigned. They are charged with five offences: fraud, false representation, conspiracy, and acquiring by false pretences.
Since the defendants did not show up for their planned arraignment, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa set a new date on January 24.
Momoh Bello, the prosecution’s attorney, claimed the defendants had been served notices and asked for a bench warrant for them throughout the proceedings. Joshua Abel, the fourth defendant’s attorney, objected to the request, claiming that his client, a company, had been served late and that the firm’s overseas directors had not been sufficiently informed.
After reviewing the proof of service, Justice Lewis-Allagoa determined that the first and second defendants—both of whom are natural persons—had not been served correctly. The court ordered the prosecution to regularise service for the remaining parties, even though there was proof of service for the third and fourth accused.
Between May and September 2013, the defendants and others allegedly conspired to illegally obtain ₦1.356 billion from Access Bank Plc (previously Diamond Bank), according to the Inspector General of Police’s Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, Lagos.
According to the police, the defendants falsely claimed that they were involved in the importation of automobiles from Dubai and that the money was required to finance the purchase of new automobiles for the purpose of reselling them. The defendants allegedly knew the money was the profits of illegal activities, so they converted it and kept it for their own benefit.
The alleged offences contravene Section 8(i)(a) and are punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offenses Act, No. 14 of 2006, as well as Section 18(2)(b) and (d) and 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
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