The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned former Skye Bank chairman Tunde Ayeni on the amended N15.6 billion fraud charges before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja.
The commission re-arraigned him on Thursday before trial judge, Jude Onwuegbuzie, following the latest amendment of the charges.
Thursday’s re-arraignment makes it the third time Mr Ayeni has entered plea to the charges. The
EFCC first arraigned him on 4 May, after which the court remanded him in prison pending the determination of his bail application. It then re-arraigned on 22 June and again on Thursday.
According to a statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, “The defendant pleaded ‘not guilty’ when the charges were read to him.”
The EFCC is prosecuting him on 18 charges of criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, and diversion of up to N15.6 billion belonging to Skye Bank.
EFCC stated one of the charges alleged that Mr Ayeni, while serving as chairperson of the board of the defunct Skye Bank Plc, now Polaris Bank Limited, directed the transfer of N3.11 billion from the bank’s suspense account to Misa Limited’s account with Zenith Bank in November 2014.
Another charge alleged that he directed the transfer of about N5 billion from the bank’s suspense account to Greenwich Registrars’ account with Union Bank in December 2014.
The commission alleged that the two transactions amounted to criminal breach of trust and were punishable under the Penal Code.
Mr Ayeni pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Argument over trial
After the arraignment, the EFCC ‘s lawyer, Abba Muhammed, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed with the trial and that its first prosecution witness was present in court.
However, Mr Ayeni’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, also a SAN, opposed the immediate commencement of trial. He argued that the prosecution had not filed the summary of the witness’s statement.
The prosecution responded that the summary of the witness’s statement had been filed alongside the second amended charge.
The judge “held that the prosecution had complied with the necessary requirements,” EFCC’s statement said.
Judge Onwuegbuzie subsequently fixed 20, 22 and 23 July for continuation of trial.
Background
Thursday’s proceedings marked the third time Mr Ayeni had taken entered his plea to the charges.
The the serial arraignment of the defendant on the same charges followed EFCC’s repeated amendments of the charges.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the EFCC first arraigned Mr Ayeni on 4 May on 17 charges alleging the diversion and misappropriation of N15.6 billion belonging to the defunct Skye Bank. He pleaded not guilty.
The anti-corruption agency later amended the charge to 18 counts after filing additional proof of evidence. The amendment led to Mr Ayeni’s re-arraignment on 22 June, when he again pleaded not guilty.
Mr Ayeni served as chairperson of the board of Skye Bank until July 2016, when the Central Bank of Nigeria )(CBN) removed the bank’s board and management during a regulatory intervention over the lender’s deteriorating financial condition.
Two years later, the CBN revoked Skye Bank’s banking licence and transferred its assets and liabilities to Polaris Bank, a bridge bank established by the regulator. Mr Ayeni did not continue with Polaris Bank after the intervention.
The EFCC’s case arose from its investigation into transactions allegedly carried out while Mr Ayeni chaired the bank’s board.
The commission alleged that billions of naira were diverted from the bank’s suspense account to companies linked to the defendants in breach of the bank’s operational policies and regulatory guidelines.
Mr Ayeni has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.