A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has warned that it may issue a warrant of arrest against Olalekan Ogunbayo, a former president of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Staff Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, if he fails to appear for arraignment over an alleged ₦582 million fraud.
Justice Lesley Wike issued the warning on Monday after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) informed the court that Ogunbayo had failed to appear for the third time to enter his plea in the criminal case. When the matter came up, EFCC counsel, R.U. Adagba, told the court that only the second defendant, Abolade Nurudeen, was present.
The prosecution said Ogunbayo had previously been granted administrative bail but had allegedly failed to make himself available for arraignment. It also told the court that efforts to locate him and serve him with the charge had been unsuccessful.
Adagba argued that Ogunbayo’s repeated absence had delayed proceedings on at least two previous occasions. He therefore urged the court to issue a bench warrant to ensure the defendant’s arrest and appearance before the court.
The EFCC counsel cited Sections 35, 113 and 114 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, arguing that the court had the authority to order a defendant’s arrest when necessary to secure attendance.
However, defence counsel, Innocent Adoo, opposed the application, insisting that the arraignment could not properly proceed without formal service of the charge on Ogunbayo.
Adoo maintained that every accused person must be informed of the allegations against them and given adequate time and opportunity to prepare a defence. He argued that proper service of the charge was a necessary legal requirement that could not be overlooked.
The defence lawyer also told the court that Ogunbayo remained on administrative bail and was unaware of the scheduled arraignment.
According to Adoo, information available to the defence indicated that Ogunbayo was in Warri and had been unable to obtain a flight to Abuja for Monday’s proceedings.
He consequently urged the court to adjourn the case to allow both defendants to appear and enter their pleas in the interest of justice.
In his ruling, Justice Wike declined, for the time being, to grant the EFCC’s request for a warrant of arrest. Instead, the judge adjourned the matter to give Ogunbayo another opportunity to appear before the court.
The judge, however, warned that the court would take appropriate legal action if the first defendant failed to attend the next hearing. The case was subsequently adjourned until November 23, 2026, for arraignment.
Ogunbayo and Nurudeen are facing an eight-count charge bordering on alleged criminal misappropriation, abuse of office, corrupt practices and obtaining money by false pretence in connection with the sale of a property belonging to the cooperative society at Plot 50, Karsana North, Abuja.
According to the prosecution, Ogunbayo, who served as president of the cooperative society, allegedly conspired with Nurudeen, who operates under the business name Abolade Nurudeen & Co., in January 2024 to misappropriate proceeds from the property sale.
In one of the counts, the defendants were accused of dishonestly misappropriating ₦582 million allegedly generated from the transaction.
The EFCC further alleged that Ogunbayo received separate payments of ₦100 million, ₦10 million and ₦50 million through different bank accounts in connection with the deal.
Nurudeen was also accused of receiving ₦180 million into an account belonging to his firm after allegedly representing that the property had been sold for ₦1 billion.
Additionally, both defendants face allegations relating to a separate ₦160 million corrupt transaction linked to the same property deal.
The allegations remain before the court, and the defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.