Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Monday, July 20, 2026, presented its First Prosecution Witness, Remigus Ugwu, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, against Tunde Ayeni, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the defunct Skye Bank Plc, in his ongoing trial before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja. The EFCC is prosecuting Ayeni on an 18-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, and diversion of funds to the tune of N15.6 billion.
Led in his testimony by prosecution counsel, Abba Muhammed, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ugwu disclosed that he provided the Commission with banking information of entities linked to the defendant during investigation. According to him, the EFCC requested account opening documents, statements of accounts, certificates of identification, and other records relating to Capital Assets Ltd, Dhuha Engineering Services Ltd, Misa Ltd, and others, which he disclosed, he made available to the Commission. "I printed the statements of the accounts of the customers mentioned, together with the account opening documents. I compared the statements of accounts printed from our computer with the information stored in our computer system, which we use for our day-to-day activities and found it to be correct. I issued the certificate of identification, which I personally signed. We raised a covering letter forwarding all the documents requested by the EFCC, and the covering letter was signed by myself and my other colleague," he said.
Further in his testimony, the witness assured the court that he could identify both the EFCC's investigation letter of request and Zenith Bank's response which he said bore the bank's acknowledgement stamp, conveyed on official letterhead with logo, and had the names of the affected customers. Both documents were provided for him and after a careful examination, he confirmed their authenticity. "My lord, these are the documents," he said. However, the attempt by prosecution counsel to tender the documents in evidence was objected to by defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, on the ground of their non-certification.
The court adjourned the matter till Wednesday, July 22, 2026, for ruling on the admissibility of the documents. The EFCC is prosecuting Ayeni on 18-count charges bordering on criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, and diversion of funds to the tune of N15.6 billion. The charges include allegations that Ayeni, while serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the defunct Skye Bank Plc, dishonestly misappropriated depositors' funds domiciled in the bank's suspense account, directing transfers to accounts linked to companies including Misa Limited, Greenwich Registrars, and others, in violation of his contract with the bank. Ayeni has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case is one of several high-profile prosecutions being pursued by the EFCC against former executives of defunct banks, as the commission continues its crackdown on financial crimes and the diversion of public funds. The trial is expected to resume on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, when the court will rule on the admissibility of the banking documents tendered by the prosecution.
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