Alleged ₦15.6bn Fraud: First Prosecution Witness Testifies Against Ayeni

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 of the 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 relating to entities linked to the defendant during the course of the investigation.

According to him, the EFCC requested account opening documents, statements of account, certificates of identification, and other records relating to Capital Assets Ltd, Dhuha Engineering Services Ltd, Misa Ltd, and other entities, all of which he made available to the Commission.

“I printed the statements of account of the customers mentioned, together with the account opening documents. I compared the statements of account printed from our computer system with the information stored in the system, which we use for our day-to-day operations, and found them to be correct.

“I issued the certificate of identification, which I personally signed. We also raised a covering letter forwarding all the documents requested by the EFCC, and the letter was signed by me and my colleague,” he said.

Further in his testimony, the witness assured the court that he could identify both the EFCC’s investigation request letter and Zenith Bank’s response, which he said bore the bank’s acknowledgement stamp, was conveyed on official letterhead bearing the bank’s logo, and contained the names of the affected customers.

When shown the documents, he carefully examined them and confirmed their authenticity.

“My Lord, these are the documents,” he said.

The attempt by the prosecution counsel to tender the documents in evidence was opposed by the defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, on the ground that they had not been duly certified.

Thereafter, Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter until 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 amounting to ₦15.6 billion.