Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has ordered the remand of a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria Edetanle,over an alleged $385,000 and ₦165,438,000 fraud.
He was detained pending the determination of his bail application which was fixed for May 13, next month.
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ikoyi, had on Tuesday, docked Edetanle on a seven-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office, money laundering and unlawful enrichment by a public official.
According to the anti-graft agency, the alleged offences contravene Sections 332(1) and 332(3), Section 73(1), and Section 82(c) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
One of the counts alleges that Edetanle, while serving as Managing Director of the NRC between May 29, 2024 and September 11, 2024, in Lagos, committed money laundering by transferring the cumulative sum of $205,000 from his domiciliary account with Access Bank Plc to the bank account of Ehimen Richard Okhiria domiciled in ABN AMRO Bank, Netherlands.
The EFCC claims the funds were proceeds of unlawful activities.
Another count states that after leaving office, between October 21, 2024 and November 21, 2024, the defendant allegedly transferred an additional $40,000 from his domiciliary account in Access Bank Plc to the same ABN AMRO Bank account in the Netherlands, also said to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him.
Prosecution counsel, Abba Muhammad, SAN, urged the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendant in a correctional facility pending trial.
Defence counsel, Adebowale Kamoru, informed the court that he had only just been served with the charge and sought a short adjournment to enable him file a bail application on behalf of his client.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter to May 13, 14 and 15, 2026, for commencement of trial.