Suspects In €49 Million Fraud Case Plead Not Guilty
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, on Monday, July 7, 2025, arraigned Abel Egerton Sokari, Nkiruka Chukwuma, and a company, Zakah Global Investment Limited, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on a six-count charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence, possession of fraudulent documents, and forgery to the tune of Forty-Nine Million Euros (€49,000,000).
One of the counts reads:
“That you, Abel Egerton Sokari, Nkiruka Chukwuma, Zakah Global Investment Limited, Cheryl Austin Adanti (at large), Husain Abid (at large), Shazad Muhammed (at large), and Ismail Adil (at large), on or about the 19th day of May 2025, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud, attempted to obtain the sum of Forty-Nine Million Euros (€49,000,000.00) from First Bank of Nigeria by falsely representing that Bayan Investment Bank and Hedge Fund Statutory Trust had transferred the aforementioned sum into account number 2046430791 belonging to Zakah Global Investment Limited, domiciled at First Bank of Nigeria.”
Another count reads:
“That you, Abel Egerton Sokari and Nkiruka Chukwuma, sometime in April 2024 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, had in your possession a document containing false pretences, to wit: a letter purportedly from the law office of Steven H. Sado, P.C., a lead defence attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, which document you knew to be false.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges when they were read to them.
Following their pleas, prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, requested a trial date and prayed the court to remand the defendants in custody pending the commencement of trial.
However, counsel to the first and second defendants, Clement Onwenwnor, SAN, and Laolu Owolabi, SAN, informed the court of their pending bail applications and urged the court to grant bail in the most liberal terms. They further undertook to take custody of the defendants pending the perfection of their bail conditions.
Justice Dada granted bail to both defendants in the sum of N500,000 each, with one surety in like sum.
They were temporarily released to their respective counsel pending the perfection of their bail conditions, which must be fulfilled within one month.
The case was adjourned to October 29, 2025, for the commencement of trial.
