€49m Fraud: EFCC arraigns 2 persons, Firm in Lagos
By Tom Okpe
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arraigned two persons and a corporate body, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, over an alleged attempt to fraudulently obtain Forty-Nine Million Euros, €49,000,000, from a Nigerian bank.
The defendants, Abel Egerton Sokari, Nkiruka Chukwuma, and Zakah Global Investment Limited, were docked on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence, possession of fraudulent documents, and forgery.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Dele Oyewale, Head of Media and Publicity of the commission in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to one of the charges, the defendants, alongside four others still at large, Cheryl Austin Adanti, Husain Abid, Shazad Muhammed, and Ismail Adil, allegedly attempted to defraud First Bank of Nigeria on May 19, 2025.
They were accused of falsely claiming that Bayan Investment Bank and Hedge Fund Statutory Trust, transferred the sum of €49,000,000 into an account domiciled with the bank and owned by Zakah Global Investment Limited.
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Another charge revealed that Sokari and Chukwuma were found in possession of a forged letter in April 2024.
The statemet further stated that the document was allegedly purported to be from the law office of Steven H. Sado, P.C, said to be a lead defence attorney for former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The EFCC said the defendants knew the document to be false with the accused persons, “pleading not guilty to all the charges.”
“Following their pleas, the prosecuting counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, urged the court to remand the defendants in custody and fix a date for trial.
“However, defence counsels Clement Onwenwnor, SAN, and Laolu Owolabi, SAN, informed the court of pending bail applications and appealed for bail on liberal terms.
“They also undertook to take temporary custody of their clients while they perfect their bail conditions.”
Justice Dada granted bail to both Sokari and Chukwuma in the sum of ₦500,000 each, with one surety in like sum.
The judge approved their temporary release to their respective counsels, with a one-month deadline to perfect the bail terms.
The case was adjourned to October 29, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
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