EFCC Re-Arraigns Two Over £110,000 Theft, N500m Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday re-arraigned two men before a Lagos Special Offences Court over alleged theft and money laundering involving £110,000 and the conversion of N500 million belonging to a businessman.

Ali Bala, also known as Barrister Ahmed, and Yusuf Umar Anka appeared before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja on a 10-count charge bordering on stealing, money laundering and retention of stolen property. The case was brought by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the anti-graft agency.

One of the counts alleges that the defendants, sometime in 2025 in Lagos, conducted financial transactions involving proceeds of unlawful activities to disguise the source of the stolen £110,000. Another count states that between July and August 2025, also in Lagos, they converted the sum of N500 million, the property of Salihu Muhammed, to their own use. The alleged offences are said to contravene Sections 280(1)(a) and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

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Both men pleaded not guilty to all 10 charges when they were read to them. Lead prosecution counsel Bilikisu Buhari then applied for a trial date and asked that the defendants be remanded in a correctional facility.

Counsel to the first and second defendants, M. Abubakar and S. Makinde, informed the court that their clients were considering a plea bargain while also pursuing bail applications.

Justice Abike-Fadipe ordered that Bala and Anka be remanded in a correctional facility and adjourned the matter to December 16, 2026, for trial and hearing of the bail applications.

This was a re-arraignment. The same defendants had earlier been brought before Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja in early September 2026 on similar charges linked to the same alleged offences. On that occasion they also pleaded not guilty and were ordered to remain in EFCC custody pending bail proceedings.

The case continues to attract attention as one of several high-value financial crime prosecutions currently before Lagos courts.