Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, May 11, 2026, reserved ruling till June 2, 2026, on the bail application filed by one of the defendants in the alleged ₦2.04 billion money laundering trial involving staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC.
At the resumed sitting on Monday, Mordecai Adejo, counsel to the first defendant, Felix Njoku, a former Director of Finance, NRC, informed the court that he had filed a motion for bail dated February 3, 2026, supported by a four-paragraph affidavit and a written address, which he adopted as his argument before the court.
He urged the court to allow his client to continue enjoying the interim bail earlier granted, stressing that the defendant had not jumped bail and had consistently reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, office as directed.
Adejo further prayed the court to allow the defendant to continue on bail pending the determination of the case.
Responding, the prosecution counsel, Abba Muhammed, SAN, told the court that the prosecution had filed a counter-affidavit and a written address opposing the application.
He submitted that the defence failed to state how many members of the defendant’s family reside in Nigeria, adding that the Commission had evidence suggesting that the defendant might abscond if granted bail.
Muhammed further submitted that some of the prosecution witnesses were staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, where the defendant previously worked and that he could interfere with witnesses and evidence if released on bail.
The prosecution counsel also informed the court that he had a witness present and was ready to proceed with the trial.
After listening to both parties, Justice Abike-Fadipe reserved ruling on the bail application till June 2, 2026.
The prosecution, thereafter, called its first witness, PW1, Clement Ngbolu, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc.
Led in evidence by Muhammed, the witness told the court that he had worked with Zenith Bank for about 16 years and that his duties include responding to requests from law enforcement agencies.
He narrated how Zenith Bank received a letter from the EFCC sometime in June 2025, requesting the statement of account of FC Njoku and Company Ltd.
According to him, the documents were printed from the bank’s system, verified, signed and forwarded to the EFCC in response to the request.
He further stated that the letter from the EFCC was addressed to the Managing Director of Zenith Bank and was later assigned to him for processing.
During proceedings, the prosecution tendered the EFCC’s letter dated June 13, 2025, alongside the bank’s response and account opening documents for FC Njoku and Company Ltd.
The defence did not object to the admissibility of the documents.
Justice Abike-Fadipe subsequently admitted the documents as Exhibits P2, P2A, P2B and P2C, respectively.
The witness confirmed that the signatories to the account were Njoku Judith Chidima and Njoku Nyaku, while the account number is 1014247906.
He also identified several inflows into the account in different tranches during his testimony.
At that point, the prosecution sought an adjournment to continue the witness’s testimony.
Justice Abike-Fadipe, thereafter, adjourned the matter till May 12, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
The EFCC had, on February 25, 2026, arraigned four senior officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation before the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja over alleged fraud and money laundering offences to the tune of over ₦2.04bn.
The defendants are Felix Njoku, a former Director of Finance of the NRC; Fidet Okhiria Edetanle, former Managing Director,
Benjamin Chinwuba Iloanusi, presently a Director in the Procurement Department of the NRC, and Oche Jerry Ogbole-Inalegwu, presently Director, Mechanical.
Njoku was specifically arraigned on a 17-count charge bordering on alleged unlawful enrichment and money laundering involving ₦736,320,807.08.
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
Justice Abike-Fadipe had earlier granted him temporary release on health grounds and ordered him to deposit his passport with the court and report to the EFCC Lagos Directorate 1 office every Monday and Friday pending the determination of his bail application.
