Oba Otudeko, the former chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), is said to have departed Nigeria before being arraigned on fraud allegations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On Thursday night, Otudeko left the nation through one of Nigeria’s land borders, according to people with knowledge of the situation. According to security officials, a family member dropped him off at the Nigeria-Benin border.
The situation occurred just hours after Otudeko and three other people were charged with 13 counts by the EFCC in the Federal High Court in Lagos. They were charged by the anti-graft agency of using fraudulent means to get a loan of N30 billion.
The other defendants in the case are Anchorage Limited, a business connected to Otudeko; Soji Akintayo, a former board member of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc; and Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, a former Group Managing Director of First Bank.
According to sources, the defendants’ arraignment was set for Monday by the EFCC. However, it’s still unclear how the anti-graft agency will handle its case given Otudeko’s abrupt departure.
At the time this report was filed, attempts to contact the businessman or his agents for comments were not successful.