The trial of a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria Edetanle, began on Tuesday at the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, over alleged fraud involving $385,000 and N165.4 million.
Edetanle was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Rahman Oshodi on eight counts bordering on money laundering, abuse of office and unlawful enrichment by a public official.
The charges, according to the EFCC, contravene Sections 332(1) and (3), 73(1) and 82(c) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
At the arraignment, prosecution counsel Abba Muhammad (SAN) asked the court to fix a date for trial and remand the defendant in custody.
Defence counsel, Adebowale Kamoru, told the court he had just been served the charge and sought a short adjournment to file a bail application for his client.
Justice Oshodi ordered Edetanle to be remanded in a Nigerian Correctional Service facility and adjourned the case to May 13, 14 and 15, 2026, for trial.
According to the EFCC, between May 29 and September 11, 2024, while still in office as NRC MD, Edetanle allegedly transferred $205,000 from his domiciliary account with Access Bank Plc to an account belonging to Ehimen Richard Okhiria at ABN AMRO Bank in the Netherlands. The funds, the Commission alleged, were proceeds of unlawful activity.
The agency further alleged that after leaving office, between October 21 and November 21, 2024, he transferred an additional $40,000 from the same account to the same foreign account, also said to be proceeds of illegal acts.
The EFCC said the transactions constitute money laundering offences under extant laws.