The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has taken over the prosecution of a N460.75m fraud case against the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Loft and Keys Ltd and Loft & Keys LLC, Dubai, Austin Albert, and his associate, Jinadu Olalekan.<\/p>\n
The development stalled the defendants\u2019 arraignment on Monday at the Federal High Court in Lagos after the court was informed that the police had filed a notice seeking to withdraw the case to allow for further investigation.<\/p>\n
However, Justice Kala said the directive alone could not effect the change in prosecution, and directed the AGF\u2019s office to file the necessary legal processes before the court could formally recognise the takeover.<\/p>\n
When the case was called, the police prosecutor, G.T. Nev, said the matter had been scheduled for the arraignment of the defendants but informed the court that the police had filed a notice seeking to withdraw the case.<\/p>\n
Nev said the withdrawal was based on the instruction of the Inspector-General of Police to enable the police to conduct further investigation into the allegations.<\/p>\n
Umana, however, told the court that the AGF had directed her to take over the prosecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Attorney-General of the Federation has directed me to take over the prosecution of this matter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Justice Kala subsequently asked whether the AGF\u2019s office had filed any formal process notifying the court of the takeover.<\/p>\n
Umana assured the court that the necessary applications would be filed and requested a short adjournment to enable the AGF\u2019s office to regularise the proceedings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will file the necessary applications to regularise the proceedings,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Following the submissions, Justice Kala adjourned the case until November 17, 2026, for the prosecution to file the required processes.<\/p>\n
The case, marked FHC\/LAG\/CR\/388\/2026, was instituted by the IGP against Albert and Olalekan in a five-count amended charge bordering on alleged money laundering, forgery, unlawful transfer of funds and intimidation.<\/p>\n
The defendants have yet to enter their pleas.<\/p>\n
At Monday\u2019s proceedings, Umana appeared for the AGF\u2019s office, while Ebun Adegboruwa (SAN) represented the first defendant. Ogechi Abu appeared on a watching brief for the nominal complainant, while Nev represented the police.<\/p>\n
According to the amended charge, the defendants allegedly conspired on March 6, 2026, to fraudulently transfer and convert N460.75m belonging to Premiere Immigration and Advisory Limited from the company\u2019s Globus Bank account into an account operated by New Power Energy and Logistics Services.<\/p>\n
The prosecution alleged that the transfer was made without the consent or authority of the company\u2019s founder and Chief Executive Officer, who was also a signatory to the account.<\/p>\n
Albert and Olalekan were also accused of procuring, forging and using the CEO\u2019s signature to create a mandate that facilitated the alleged transfer.<\/p>\n
The prosecution further alleged that Albert threatened the CEO in February 2026 in an attempt to compel her to surrender either 10 per cent of her 50 per cent shareholding or her entire interest in Premiere Immigration and Advisory Limited.<\/p>\n
He was also accused of contacting the complainant\u2019s friends and business associates and urging them to pressure her to relinquish control of the company or face unspecified consequences.<\/p>\n
The alleged offences are said to contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, the Miscellaneous Offences Act and the Criminal Code Act.<\/p>\n
The police had earlier filed an amended charge on July 13, 2026, pursuant to Section 216 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, paving the way for the arraignment.<\/p>\n
The matter first came before Justice Kala on June 7, when July 23 was fixed for the defendants\u2019 arraignment.<\/p>\n
The arraignment did not hold on that date because Albert was absent from court, prompting the judge to direct the defence to ensure his presence at the next sitting.<\/p>\n
With the AGF now taking over the prosecution, the case was adjourned until November 17, 2026, for the court to consider the processes to be filed formally effecting the change in prosecution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has taken over the prosecution of a N460.75m fraud case against the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Loft and Keys Ltd and Loft & Keys LLC, Dubai, Austin Albert, and his associate, Jinadu Olalekan. The development stalled the defendants\u2019 arraignment on Monday at the Federal High Court […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":87242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t