Former chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Oba Otudeko, has left the country according to a report by online news medium TheCable
Otudeko’s departure comes as he faces imminent arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 13-count charge of alleged fraud related to a N30 billion loan obtained under false pretences.
Sources informed the news medium that Mr Otudeko left Nigeria via a land border on Thursday evening. He was reportedly dropped off at the Nigeria-Benin border by a family member.
PREMIUM TIMES, however, reported that he flew out of Lagos on a British Airways flight to London.
The EFCC filed charges on Thursday against Otudeko and three other defendants at the Federal High Court in Lagos. The accused include Bisi Onasanya, a former group managing director of FBN; Soji Akintayo, a former board member of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc; and Anchorage Limited, a company linked to Otudeko.
The charges allege that the defendants obtained multiple tranches of loans—N12.3 billion, N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.1 billion, and N1.5 billion—from First Bank between 2013 and 2014 under false pretences.
In a statement issued Thursday through Olasumbo Abolaji, the general counsel for Honeywell Group, Otudeko refuted the allegations. He stated that he had not received any official invitation regarding the charges. He emphasised that he had never held an executive role in FBN Holdings or its subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, which would give him operational responsibility.
Otudeko and the other defendants are scheduled for arraignment on Monday, but his sudden departure raises questions about his availability to face the charges.
The EFCC has yet to comment on the reported development.
