POLICE TO ARRAIGN OBANIKORO’S SON OVER ALLEGED FRAUD

A Federal High Court in Lagos has set February 27, 2025, for the arraignment of Gbolahan Obanikoro, son of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and four others in connection with an alleged N1.35 billion fraud.

The co-defendants include Adejare Adegbenro, 51; Balmoral International Limited; M.O.B. Integrated Limited; and DDSS International Company Limited. They face five charges, including conspiracy, obtaining by false pretenses, false representation, and fraud.

At the originally scheduled arraignment last Friday, the defendants failed to appear. Prosecutor Momoh Bello sought a bench warrant for their arrest, arguing that they had been properly served. However, Joshua Abel, representing the fourth defendant, opposed the request, explaining that the notice had only been recently received and that some defendants were out of the country.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa highlighted inconsistencies in the service of the court documents and instructed the prosecution to ensure that all defendants were properly served. The case was adjourned to 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). They allegedly misrepresented their business as importing cars from Dubai for resale in Nigeria, but instead used the funds for personal purposes.

The charges, brought 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.

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