Lagos court orders First Nation boss to stand trial on fraud

The Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos has ordered First Nation Airways (FRN, Lagos) chairman and chief executive Kayode Odukoya to continue to stand trial on seven counts of fraud, theft, forgery, and perjury involving at least NGN2 billion naira (USD4.8 million).

Judge Mojisola Dada on November 1 dismissed an application by Odukoya to have the case thrown out and ordered him to defend his case on January 17 and 18, 2022, reports Nigeria’s Business 247 News. He has pleaded not guilty on all charges.

Odukoya, alongside First Nation Airways Limited and Bellview Airlines, is being prosecuted by the country’s corruption watchdog, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In the long-standing trial, the prosecution had closed its case on November 30, 2020, already after having called five witnesses, but Odukoya had filed a “no-case” submission in an attempt to have it dismissed.

According to the charge sheet, Odukoya and First Nation Airways are accused of fraudulently having obtained NGN307.2 million (USD747,692) in credit from Skye Bank Plc (now Polaris Bank Ltd) on August 29, 2013. On October 7, 2016, Odukoya, First Nation Airways Limited, and Bellview Airlines Limited, also allegedly dishonestly converted for personal use NGN1.7 billion (USD4.1 million) worth of property of Skye Bank Plc.

The case has been postponed several times since the EFCC on March 16, 2018, first brought charges against Odukoya.

First Nation Airways suspended flight operations in May 2018. Odukoya had also been Chief Executive Officer of Bellview Airlines, which went out of business in 2010.