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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a legal practitioner, Barrister Steve Adamu, before Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court on a one-count charge bordering on giving false information to the Commission.
According to the charge, Adamu was accused of “wilfully providing false information to the EFCC” on September 15, 2022, information which investigators later relied upon to pursue a complaint he allegedly knew to be untrue. The offence contravenes Section 16(1) of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004 and is punishable under Section 16(2) of the same Act.
When the charge was read to him, the defendant pleaded “not guilty.” Following his plea, prosecution counsel M. E. Eimonye urged the court to fix a date for trial, while defence counsel applied for bail on behalf of his client.
Justice Khobo subsequently ordered that the lawyer be remanded in the Nigerian Correctional Centre pending the hearing of his bail application. The matter was adjourned to December 20, 2025.
EFCC investigators said the lawyer’s journey to the courtroom began after he filed a petition claiming his landlord had “no visible means of livelihood” yet was purchasing expensive vehicles and developing multiple properties. However, the Commission stated that its inquiries revealed the allegations to be “entirely false and malicious,” leading to Adamu’s arrest and prosecution.