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.

Three Nigerian nationals have been sentenced for their involvement in an extensive fraud operation that targeted elderly U.S. residents, authorities confirmed.

The scheme, which spanned from 2017 to 2022, resulted in over $2 million in stolen funds, much of which came from vulnerable victims who were deceived through fake online relationships.

Fatai Okunola, 38, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, received a prison sentence of over 10 years for his role in the conspiracy.

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He was sentenced to five years for making false statements during naturalization and an additional 10 years for money laundering, with both sentences to run concurrently.

Okunola was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $730,000 to the victims of the fraud scheme.

Two Dallas residents, Oluwaseyi Adeola, 34, and Ijeoma Adeola, 36, were also sentenced in connection with the operation.

Oluwaseyi was handed a nearly three-year prison term and ordered to pay about $410,000 in restitution. Ijeoma, on the other hand, received three years of probation for misprision of a felony and was ordered to pay nearly $49,000 in restitution.

The defendants, in collaboration with accomplices in Nigeria, created fake personas to form relationships with U.S. victims over the internet, social media, text, or phone.

They then solicited money from their victims, instructing them to send funds to various bank accounts opened under fake identities and shell companies operated by the defendants.

The stolen money was then transferred among the conspirators and sent to their partners in Nigeria.

In addition to the fraud, Okunola used some of the stolen funds to assist individuals in purchasing and shipping cars to Nigeria.

U.S. Attorney Mark Totten addressed the impact of the fraud, stating, “Financial fraud is not a ‘faceless’ crime — and today’s sentencings help secure a measure of justice for the victims of this international fraud scheme.”

He further remarked, “Some victims lost their retirement savings, took loans against their homes, or suffered other financial distress because of the defendants’ lies.”

The fraudulent operation exploited the trust of elderly victims, leaving many financially devastated, with some losing their life savings in the process.