Justice Rahmon Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court has ordered the remand of an accountant, Oguibe Promise Nwachukwu, at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre for allegedly stealing N200 million belonging to his former employer.
Nwachukwu was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside his company, Wifamapp Royalty Global Limited, on a 13-count charge bordering on stealing.
According to a statement released by the EFCC on Monday, the defendant allegedly diverted a total of $192,000 belonging to Travelstar Web Logistics Limited, where he worked as an accountant.
The anti-graft agency alleged that Nwachukwu converted $36,000 in 2020 and another $156,000 between January and July 2018 to personal use.
Part of the charge read, “That you, Oguibe Promise Nwachukwu, being the alter ego of Wifamapp Royalty Global Limited… dishonestly converted to your own use the sum of $36,000 property of Travelstar Web Logistics Limited entrusted to you, being the custodian as an accountant… thereby committed an offence stealing, contrary to Section 280(1)(b) and (2)(f) and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him in court.
Following the plea, the prosecution counsel, A.A. Usman, requested a trial date and asked that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody.
In response, the defence counsel, Kelvin C. Uzozie, informed the court of a pending bail application and also urged that his client be held at the EFCC facility.
“The defence counsel, Kelvin C. Uzozie, informed the court of a pending bail application on behalf of his client and also pleaded that the defendant be remanded in the EFCC custody,” the statement read.
Justice Oshodi, after hearing arguments from both sides, adjourned the matter till October 17, 2025, for hearing of the bail application and ordered the defendant’s remand at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
The EFCC, in recent months, has intensified its prosecution of high-profile financial crimes. Earlier this year, the commission arraigned the former Accountant-General of the Federation, Anamekwe Nnabuoku, for alleged N1.9 billion fraud, and in April, the Accountant-General of Bauchi State was charged with diverting N8.3 billion.
These cases underscore the EFCC’s continued efforts to combat corruption and financial misconduct among custodians of public funds.
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