Nigeria businessman, Dr. Jude Ndudi, has narrated before a Federal High Court, Lagos, how a former bank manager, Fidelis Egueke, allegedly plotted a kidnapping scheme, threatened to kill him and later defrauded him of over N100 million in a failed business deal.
Dr. Ndudi made the above scary revelation, during continue trial of the banker before the court presided over by Justice Alexander Owoeye, filed against him by the Force Criminal Investigation Department Force CID Annex Alagbon-lkoyi Lagos.
The former bank manager is being tried before the court on an alleged offences bordering on conspiracy, fraud, unlawful conversion, obtaining money by false pretence, unauthorised withdrawal and forgery, in an amended charge numbered FHC/L/298c/2020.
Recounting the alleged deception, Dr. Jude while being led by the prosecutor, Barrister Morufu Ajani Animashaun, in his testimony and described events beginning told the court that he arrived in Lagos on December 4, 2018 from USA for a planned Lagos meeting and contacted the defendant to arrange for the Lagos planned meeting with businessman Great Ogboru regarding a proposed business loan transaction. But the defendant kept changing the meeting venue under suspicious circumstances.
“I was first told by the defendant that Chief Ogboru had traveled to Delta State and that the meeting would hold in Asaba. When I arrived in Asaba the next day, the defendant told me Ogboru had left for Warri and wanted us to meet there.”
He told the court that he declined the request to travel to Warri for security reasons, and insisted the meeting should take place in Asaba, Lagos, or Abuja.
The witness also told the court that moments later, he received a call from Turner Ogboru informing him that the meeting will take place in Lagos, only to discovered that Chief Ogboru never left Lagos in the first place,” the witness said. “The defendant was allegedly sending me to Warri, where he is from, to be kidnapped for ransom.”
On the alleged N100 million loan deal, the businessman told the court that on 7th December, 2018, the defendant took him to Chief Great Ogboru’s office in Ikoyi, where he was persuaded to provide a N100 million loan, saying that the money was needed for Customs clearance of a shipment of frozen fish allegedly arriving at the port in Port Harcourt.
The witness also told the court that as condition for the N100 million loan to Fiogret, defendant relative company was to provide postdated cheques as collateral in the amount of N110 million and the defendant who he trusted was to go to Port Harcourt to verify that the ship and the frozen fish are there before written authorisation and written approval are given for the loan to be release to Fiogret.
The witness also told the court that the defendant assured him that he the defendant is in control of 1.7 billion Naira of Chief Great Ogboru money in his bank and will be used as backup collateral for paying back the 110 million Naira loan.
He also told the court that the defendant relative company Fiogret issued six post-dated cheques as security for the loan, five valued at N20 millon each and one valued at N10 million. Also, the defendant was to go to Port Harcourt to make sure that the ships were there and that the frozen fish are in the ship and send him the bill of lading to verify before letter of authorisation and approval are issued to release the money.
The businessman told the court that he asked the defendant, whom he described as an experienced banker with more than 10 years in the profession, to review the cheques before accepting them. And that the defendant examined each cheque and certified them as correct. He was also assured by the defendant that the cheques are valid and will be good when deposited because the defendant is in control of their 1.7 billion Naira in his bank.
However, the witness said he later discovered that the ship carrying the fish and the cargo itself did not exist and the 1.7 billion Naira that the defendant claim that he controlled and have in the defendant bank never existed as well.
On the disputed deposits and bounced cheques, the businessman, who is the first Prosecution Witness (PW 1), told the court that the defendant was tasked with depositing the post-dated cheques when due since he resides in United States, but the defendant repeatedly failed to do so despite multiple reminders.
He said months later the defendant admitted that the five 20 million Naira cheques were not valid. “I was stunned because he had already reviewed them earlier and confirmed they were legitimate,” the witness said. The defendant told him that. The five 20 million Naira cheques totaling 100 million Naira were not valid and not legal tender in Nigeria
The witness further stated that when the remaining 10 million Naira cheque was eventually deposited on 14th October 2019, it was dishonored. The entire 110 million Naira cheques were worthless and fraudulent.
He said when he questioned the defendant about the development, the defendant explained that the cheque was drawn from an operational account but assured him that he still controlled 1.7 billion Naira belonging to Ogboru in a bank account and will transfer the 110 million Naira to his account the next day. Only to tell him the following day that the account had been restricted and he could not transfer the money. “That was the moment I realized the person I trusted had defrauded me,” he said.
The witness also informed the court that on 10 December 2018 that the defendant transfers 50 million Naira from his company account by forging the Director’s signature and that the money was transferred by the defendant without a written authorisation and a written approval in violation of the company bylaws, which is considered as an act of theft against the company, subject to the maximum prosecution and penalty allowed by law.
On 11 December 2018 another 50 million Naira was transferred by the defendant to another company that is unknown to us again with forged Director’s signature and without written authorisation and written approval from the company in violation of the company’s bylaws which is considered an act of theft against the company, subject to prosecution and penalty under the law.
Same goes for 7.98 million 5 million 4.7 million 3 million etc. The businessman told the court that all the 16 count amended charges against the defendant involved money that exceed 500 thousand Niara that were converted, withdrawn, transferred or debited by the defendant with forged signatures and without the written authorisation and written approval of the company.
The witness told the court that at the beginning, the defendant admitted to allegedly stealing the money and pleaded for settlement and that the defendant reneged on all the settlements agreement and told the businessman that since the money the defendant allegedly stole is so much that it will be better for him the defendant to fight the businessman in court with his money and keep the remaining money. The defendant boasted that he will hire SAN and senior lawyers to take care of the system and that he will get away with the crime and keep the remaining money.
On the Petition to police, the prosecution witness told the court that owing to the above, he subsequently petitioned the police through the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police at Alagbon in Lagos.
He tendered the petition dated 24 February 2020, written by his lawyers, as well as a referral letter dated 2 March 2020 from the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja. The defense did not object to the documents being admitted, Justice Owoeye admitted both documents as Exhibit A.
During cross-examination by Chief Nelson Imoh, the defendant’s lawyer, who highlighted the family relationship between the witness and the defendant.
The businessman confirmed that the defendant is his brother-in-law by definition only, having married his younger sister, Blessing Uju Egueke, and that the marriage produced four children but that the defendant has not exhibited the characteristic of a brother-n-law.
He however, insisted the family relationship did not affect the facts of the case. Adding that his sister later filed for divorce after the defendant allegedly threatened to kill her and their children for agreeing to testify in this criminal matter.
When told that ongoing marital disputes in the family influenced the criminal complaint, the businessman denied the assertion maintaining that the alleged financial misconduct occurred before the divorce proceedings began, and that the defendant wife file for divorce after the defendant threatened to kill his wife and children, if his wife testifies in this criminal case against him.
On the company structure, the prosecution witness told the court that the funds involved belonged to his Global Select Investment Services Limited, a company incorporated in June 2009. And that the company’s directors included himself, his wife, and his sister, adding that the firm operates as a subsidiary of a parent company based in the United States and that the Company was 100% funded by him and that all the merchandise shipped to Nigeria from USA were 100% paid for by him.
According to him, company by-laws require written authorisation and written approval for transactions above 500,000 Naira and he alleged that the defendant made several withdrawals without the required written authorisation and written approval.
Meanwhile, Justice Owoeye has adjourned the matter to 9 July 2026 for further hearing.
The defendant, Fidelis Egueke was first arraigned before Justice (Prof) Chuka Austin Obiozor, sometimes in November 2020, on two previous amended charges of three and 14 counts of conspiracy, fraud, unlawful conversion, obtaining by false pretence and unauthorised withdrawal.
He was again re-arraigned before Justice Tijjani Ringim on August 7, 2022, on the same counts, after Justice Obiozor was transferred out of Lagos jurisdiction of the court. However, due to the transfer of Justice Ringim to another jurisdiction, his case file was taken over by Justice Kehinde Ogundare. And upon the transfer of Justice Ogundare, he was again re-arraigned before Justice Owoeye, who is currently presiding over the case.
