Former First Bank Chairman, Oba Otudeko, has reportedly fled Nigeria just days before his scheduled court appearance on Monday, January 20, 2025.

The 81-year-old businessman is facing fraud charges involving the alleged embezzlement of N12.3 billion alongside three others.

According to reports, Otudeko left the country on Thursday evening via one of Nigeria’s land borders.

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Security sources revealed that he was dropped off at the Nigeria-Benin border by a family member.

Efforts to contact him have been unsuccessful, as his phone number is switched off.

While messages sent to his WhatsApp were delivered, they remain unanswered.

His son, Obafemi Otudeko, also declined to comment when reached by journalists.

The charges against Otudeko stem from a case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Otudeko, alongside former First Bank Managing Director Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, a former Honeywell board member Soji Akintayo, and a firm connected to Otudeko, Anchorage Leisure Limited, is accused of conspiring to defraud First Bank between 2013 and 2014.

The EFCC had alleged that the defendants fraudulently obtained funds in multiple tranches, including N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.15 billion, N1.5 billion, and N500 million.

The 13-count charge, filed by EFCC counsel Bilikisu Buhari on January 16, 2025, also accuses the group of forgery to deceive the bank.

One of the charges reads: “You conspired to obtain the sum of N12.3 billion from First Bank Limited on the pretence that the said sum represented credit facilities applied for by V-TECH DYNAMIC LINKS LIMITED and Stallion Nigeria Limited, which representation you know to be false.”

Another charge states: “On or about November 26, 2013, in Lagos, you obtained the sum of N5.2 billion from First Bank Limited on the pretence that the said sum represented credit facilities applied for by V-TECH DYNAMIC LINKS LIMITED, which representation you know to be false.”

The Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, is set to hear the case, registered as FHC/L/20C/2025, on Monday.

However, Otudeko’s reported flight from the country raises questions about whether he will appear in court.

Attempts by journalists to reach EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale for comments were unsuccessful, as calls to his phone line on Friday were unanswered, with a “switched off” notification.

A Nasarawa State High Court has ordered the remand of a self-acclaimed gospel singer, Timilehin Ajayi, after he was allegedly caught with the severed head of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Salome Adaidu.

The remand order was disclosed in a statement posted on the official X page of the Nasarawa State Police Command on Friday.

The police noted that Ajayi was taken to court and will remain in custody until his formal arraignment.

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The statement read, “Timilehin Ajayi was charged to court today and remanded in prison custody pending his formal arraignment.”

Ajayi was arrested earlier this week after churchgoers reportedly caught him engaging in suspicious behavior near a river.

According to Caleb Umaru, the Bible study teacher and general secretary of the church, a concerned member noticed Ajayi throwing a bag into the water.

“When the bag was retrieved, it was found to contain the severed head of a woman,” Umaru explained, identifying the victim as Salome Adaidu.

The suspect, who allegedly confessed to the crime, claimed he killed Adaidu because she was cheating on him.

Ajayi reportedly told police he felt no remorse for his actions.

The family of the deceased has rejected Ajayi’s claims that Adaidu was his girlfriend, insisting that she was never in a relationship with him.

Contrary to reports that Adaidu had visited the suspect, the family alleged that she had been kidnapped.

The case has sparked widespread outrage amid suspicions that the killing may have been for ritual purposes.

Ajayi, a gospel singer known in local circles, has faced backlash from religious and community leaders over the alleged crime.

Sequel to an outbreak of yet another communal fracas between Ifon and Ilobu communities, the Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has imposed a curfew in the two communities with immediate effect.

The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi made this known in a statement in Osogbo, on Thursday evening.

To forestall further escalation of the crisis, Gov Adeleke approved that a 7pm to 7am curfew be imposed.

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According to Alimi, “Following the outbreak of another communal clashes between the people of Ifon and Ilobu, the Osun state government has taken the following decisions aimed at ensuring lasting peace in the warring communities.

“That a 7pm to 7am curfew be imposed with immediate effect starting from today, Thursday 16th of Jan 2025 until further notice.

“That a contingent of all security personnel, comprising the Army, Police, and Civil Defence has been, accordingly, deployed to the warring communities to forestall further anarchy.

“That all stakeholders in the areas are advised to cooperate with the State Government to resolve the issues amicably at ensuring lasting peace.

“That an enlarged Committee of Stakeholders which shall consist of the representatives of the Communities, the Service Chiefs, the representatives of the State Council of Obas and other relevant bodies be immediately constituted to resolve the issue permanently.

“Finally, anyone or group of persons, found or caught doing or instigating any further violence, knowingly or unknowingly, in breach of lasting peace would be made to face the full wrath of the law, via necessary prosecution, in line with the dictates of the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”