Lagos, has ordered Kayode Odukoya, Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer of First Nation Airways Limited, who is being prosecuted by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for an alleged N1.7bn
fraud to open his defence on January 17, 2022 and also dismissed his
no-case submission.
Odukoya is standing trial alongside First Nation Airways Limited and
Bellview Airlines Limited on a seven-count charge bordering on forgery,
use of false document, perjury, stealing and obtaining credit by fraud
contrary to sections 85(1), 86(1), 278(1)&(b), 285(1), 313(1)(a) &(b),
361(1)(a)& (b), 363 (1) and 364(1) of the criminal law of Lagos State of
Nigeria 2011.
One of the counts reads: “Kayode Odukoya and First Nation Airways, on or
about the 29th day of August, 2013 in Lagos, within the lkeja Judicial
Division, by means of fraud, obtained the credit of N307,268,406.43 for
yourselves from Skye Bank Plc (Now Polaris Bank Ltd) and made the bank
to incur liability by presenting a Memorandum of Loss at Lagos State
Certificate of Occupancy registered as No.33 at page 33 in Volume 1011
at the Lagos State Registry, Alausa, Ikeja In respect of property being
and situate at No. 29 Oduduwa Street, lkeja GRA. Lagos State.”
Another count reads: “Kayode Odukoya, First Nation Airways Limited and
Bellview Airlines Limited, on or about the 7th day of October, 2016 in
Lagos within, the Lagos Judicial Division, dishonestly converted to your
own use the sum of N1, 742,994,962.04 (One Billion, Seven Hundred and
Forty-one Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety-four Thousand, Nine Hundred
and Sixty-two Naira, Four Kobo) property of Skye Bank Plc.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
The prosecution had closed its case on November 30, 2020, after calling
five witnesses and tendering several documents to prove its case.
However, rather than open his defence, the defendant, through his
counsel, Edoka Onyeke, had filed a no-case submission.
Onyeke had urged the Court to “dismiss the seven-count charge and to
discharge the defendant”, while the prosecuting counsel, A.B.C. Ozioko,
had argued that there was “legally admissible evidence against the
defendant to warrant him to enter his defence and to explain his role in
the charge.”
Delivering ruling, Justice Dada dismissed the no-case submission and
ordered the defendant to open his case on January 17 and 18, 2022.