The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, July 20, 2026, presented the First Prosecution Witness, PW1, Remigus Ugwu, against Tunde Ayeni, former Chairman, Board of Directors of the defunct Skye Bank Plc (now Polaris Bank Limited), in his trial before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Apo, Abuja.
Led in his testimony by the prosecution counsel, Abba Muhammed SAN, the witness, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, disclosed that he provided the Commission with banking information of entities linked to the defendant during investigation.
According to him, the EFCC requested account opening documents, statements of accounts, certificates of identification, and other records relating to Capital Assets Ltd, Dhuha Engineering Services Ltd, Misa Ltd, and others, which he disclosed he made available to the Commission.
“I printed the statements of the accounts of the customers mentioned, together with the account opening documents. I compared the statements of accounts printed from our computer with the information stored in our computer system, which we use for our day-to-day activities and found it to be correct.
“I issued the certificate of identification, which I personally signed. We raised a covering letter forwarding all the documents requested by the EFCC, and the covering letter was signed by myself and my other colleague,” he said.
Further in his testimony, the witness assured the court that he could identify both the EFCC’s investigation letter of request and Zenith Bank’s response, which he said bore the bank’s acknowledgement stamp, conveyed on official letterhead with logo, and had the names of the affected customers.
Both documents were provided to him, and after a careful examination, he confirmed their authenticity. “My lord, these are the documents,” he said.
The attempt by prosecution counsel to tender the documents in evidence was objected to by the defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, on the ground of their non-certification.
The court adjourned the matter till Wednesday, July 22, 2026, for ruling on the admissibility of the documents.
The EFCC is prosecuting Ayeni on an 18-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, and diversion of funds to the tune of N15.6 billion.
