COURT HEARS ALLEGED KIDNAP PLOT, N100M FRAUD CASE AGAINST EX-BANK MANAGER IN LAGOS
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has heard allegations of a failed kidnap plot and a N100 million fraud involving a former bank manager, Fidelis Egueke.
The allegations were made by a Nigerian businessman, Jude Ndudi, while testifying before Alexander Owoeye, who is presiding over the case.
The case, instituted by the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon Annex, involves a 16-count amended charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud, unlawful conversion, obtaining by false pretence, unauthorised withdrawal and forgery.
Ndudi told the court that he arrived in Nigeria from the United States on December 4, 2018, for a planned business meeting involving the defendant and businessman Great Ogboru.
According to him, the defendant repeatedly changed the meeting location under suspicious circumstances, initially directing him to travel from Lagos to Asaba, and later to Warri.
The witness said he declined the request to proceed to Warri due to security concerns, insisting the meeting be held in Lagos, Abuja, or Asaba.
He further told the court that he later discovered that Ogboru had not left Lagos as earlier claimed, alleging that the defendant’s intention was to lure him to Warri to be kidnapped for ransom.
Ndudi also narrated how he was allegedly defrauded of N100 million in a failed business transaction.
He told the court that on December 7, 2018, he was taken to Ogboru’s office in Ikoyi, where he was persuaded to provide a loan of N100 million for the purported customs clearance of a shipment of frozen fish expected at the Port Harcourt port.
As part of the agreement, a company linked to the defendant, Fiogret, issued six post-dated cheques valued at N110 million as collateral, five cheques of N20 million each and one cheque of N10 million.
The witness said the defendant, whom he described as an experienced banker, reviewed and confirmed the validity of the cheques, assuring him that they were backed by N1.7 billion allegedly under his control.
However, Ndudi told the court that he later discovered that the shipment of frozen fish never existed and that the claimed funds used as collateral were also fictitious.
The businessman further alleged that the defendant forged company documents to withdraw funds from his firm, Global Select Investment Services Limited.
He told the court that on December 10 and 11, 2018, the defendant allegedly transferred N50 million each on two occasions from the company’s account using forged signatures and without authorisation.
He added that several other withdrawals, running into millions of naira, were also carried out in violation of the company’s by-laws.
According to him, all 16 counts in the charge relate to transactions exceeding N500,000 allegedly carried out without proper approval.
Ndudi, who is the first prosecution witness, said the defendant failed to deposit the post-dated cheques as agreed and later admitted that the N100 million worth of cheques were invalid.
He added that when the remaining N10 million cheque was eventually presented in October 2019, it was dishonoured.
He told the court that the defendant initially admitted to the alleged fraud and sought settlement but later reneged, allegedly boasting that he would use his resources to contest the case in court.
During cross-examination, the witness confirmed that the defendant is his brother-in-law, having been married to his younger sister.
However, he insisted that the family relationship did not influence the case, noting that the alleged financial misconduct occurred before any marital dispute.
He further alleged that his sister later filed for divorce after the defendant allegedly threatened her and their children.
Ndudi told the court that he subsequently petitioned the police through the office of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police at Alagbon. Documents tendered in court were admitted as exhibits without objection.
The defendant was first arraigned in November 2020 before Chuka Austin Obiozor and later re-arraigned before Tijjani Ringim and Kehinde Ogundare following transfers of the judges.
Justice Owoeye has adjourned the matter until July 9, 2026, for further hearing.
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