Ayeni Pleads Not Guilty in EFCC Case, Trial Set for 2027

Tunde Ayeni pleaded not guilty to an existing 18-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over an alleged N15.39 billion fraud, as the Federal Capital Territory High Court set January 19, 2027, for the start of trial.

Ayeni appeared before Justice H. Muazu at the High Court in Maitama after the case was transferred from Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie’s court in Apo. The EFCC says the charges concern alleged criminal breach of trust, misappropriation and diversion of funds connected to the defunct Skye Bank. The allegations have not been established in court.

The commission’s account of count eight alleges that N3,113,543,665.42 was transferred from Skye Bank’s suspense account to a Misa Limited account at Zenith Bank on November 20, 2014, at Ayeni’s direction. Count nine alleges that N5,078,550,000 was transferred from the same suspense account to Greenwich Registrars at Union Bank on December 2, 2014, also at his direction. The EFCC says both transfers violated Ayeni’s obligations to the bank.

The commission’s stated total for the 18-count case is N15,391,093,665.00. An earlier EFCC release described the alleged amount as N15.6 billion. Both figures are...