The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Thursday, April 16, 2026, presented Prosecution Witnesses 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, FCT, Abuja, in the ongoing trial of Jesam Michael Ubi and Afriq Arbitrage System (AAS) over alleged investment fraud.

The witnesses, who are victims of Ubi’s arbitrage trading platform, Afriq Arbitrage System, testified about the loss of their investment capital and the failure to receive promised returns on investment (RoI).

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, Prosecution Witness 12 (PW12), Okoye Eugene, a welder, told the court that he had earlier invested in an investment platform known as COTPS, which later crashed. He disclosed that the first defendant, through the platform’s social media group, encouraged him to continue investing even as it became apparent that the scheme had failed.

He further stated that the defendant subsequently migrated him and other investors to a Telegram group, where he introduced Afriq Arbitrage System (AAS) as a new investment opportunity.

According to PW12, he was persuaded to invest after the defendant assured them that their funds were safe and warehoused in the Binance liquidity pool, which he claimed was secure from unauthorised access. He added that the defendant shared pictures of his wife, children, and mother on the Telegram group to build trust among investors.

Based on these assurances, PW12 said he invested over $82,000 on behalf of himself, his friends, and family members.

He further told the court that in April 2023, the defendant informed investors of a system glitch, which allegedly prevented the payment of returns on investment. However, suspicion arose when the defendant claimed that a certain individual named Abayomi had stolen $87,000,000 from the interest pool, while insisting that investors’ capital remained intact.

PW12 stated that the defendant assured them that withdrawals could be processed within hours upon contacting the support team via email. He, however, lamented that neither his capital nor any returns have been paid to date.

Prosecution Witness 13 (PW13), Salihu Z. Ibrahim, a businessman from Auchi, Edo State, dealing in kitchenware, testified that he was also assured that his investment was secure and protected from external breaches. He said he was convinced to invest based on the defendant’s repeated claims that the funds were held in the Binance liquidity pool.

He added that as the platform began to experience issues and investors demanded access to their funds, they were removed from the Telegram group, threatened, and in some cases, arrested. He also alleged that figures on the platform were manipulated.

Prosecution Witness 14 (PW14), Johnson Veronica, told the court that she sold her cars and other properties to invest about $80,000 in AAS. She said the experience had devastated her life, leading to the loss of her marriage and life savings.

She further testified that the defendant later claimed he had travelled for liver treatment and, during his absence, a certain Abayomi allegedly compromised his and his wife’s biometric data to gain unauthorised access to the interest pool, from which $87,000,000 was stolen.

She, however, expressed doubt over the claim, noting that the defendant had previously stated that even he could not breach the system.

Prosecution Witness 15 (PW15), Ayam Sebastian Chinwendu, a civil servant, testified that she took loans to invest in both the AAS platform and a newly introduced token by the defendant. She said she invested over $3,000 and has since been unable to recover her funds.

Prosecution Witness 16 (PW16), Okonkwo Leonard Emeka, stated that he was introduced to the platform by his sister. He said he invested over $20,000 in AAS and an additional $17,000 in the newly floated token, hoping to earn returns. However, he noted that he has neither received his capital nor any returns.

According to him, “I have put in all I have into this and convinced others to invest, and now it is costing me my family. I don’t want the RoI anymore; I just want my invested capital so I can take care of my family.”

He also questioned the defendant’s lifestyle, stating that despite claims of financial losses, the defendant continued to live extravagantly, showcasing luxury properties, including swimming pools branded with his name, and driving expensive cars.

All the witnesses confirmed that the AAS platform is no longer accessible to investors. They also expressed doubt that the funds invested were used for arbitrage trading as claimed.

The prosecution tendered screenshots of the witnesses’ dashboards and other relevant pages of the investment platforms, which were admitted in evidence by the court.

The case was adjourned until May 14, 2026, for continuation of trial.

As part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against corruption, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has called on the Commission’s legal officers to demonstrate greater diligence, precision, and professionalism in preparing charges and court processes.

Olukoyede made the call in Lagos on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at the opening of a three-day intensive training programme for EFCC legal officers held at the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 Conference Hall, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi.

The training, titled “Training Programme for Legal Officers on Preparation and Dealing with Appeals in Financial Crimes and Allied Matters, Evidence Gathering and Trial Preparation for Young Lawyers,” focuses on strengthening expertise in key prosecution areas, including charge drafting, appeals management, evidence gathering, and trial preparation.

In his opening remarks, the EFCC chairman, who was represented by the Director of Legal and Prosecution, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, said the training was designed to promote knowledge sharing and capacity building among legal officers.

According to him, the initiative reinforces the Commission’s sustained commitment to professional development as a key driver of institutional effectiveness in combating economic and financial crimes nationwide.

“This training is a strategic initiative designed to ensure that our officers handle cases with the highest level of competence and professionalism,” he said.

Earlier, the Acting Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I) Bawa Usman Kaltungo, declared the programme open and emphasized the need for continuous training and retraining of the Commission’s lawyers in response to emerging trends in criminal prosecution.

“When I received the memo and looked at the title, I said this is very apt. Our Executive Chairman is a trainer, and I am not surprised he approved this training. We need to constantly improve our skills. There is always a need for training and retraining,” he said.

Participants drawn from the Port Harcourt, Uyo, Benin, Ibadan, and Lagos Zonal Directorates 1 and 2 are expected to apply the knowledge gained to improve prosecution quality, reduce procedural errors, and enhance justice delivery in financial crime cases.

The training features paper presentations on topics including: Concept and Purpose of Appeals in Economic and Financial Crimes and Allied Matters; Drafting Competent and Effective Grounds of Appeal in EFCC Cases; Handling Evidence Issues in Appeals; Effective Drafting of Appellants’ and Respondents’ Briefs; Digital Evidence and Cybercrime Appeals; Strategies for Building Strong Appeals; Oral Advocacy Skills; Interlocutory Appeals; Compilation and Transmission of Records of Appeal; and Appeals in Asset Forfeiture and Recovery.

Other sessions include: Admissibility of Evidence under the Evidence Act 2011; Relevance as the Foundation of Admissible Evidence; Documentary Evidence and the Admissibility of Public and Private Documents; Electronic and Digital Evidence in EFCC Cases; Trial and Evidence Gathering in Financial Crime Prosecutions; Burden and Standard of Proof in Civil and Criminal Cases; Expert Evidence; Hearsay Evidence and Its Exceptions; and Confessional Statements—Admissibility and Weight in Nigerian Courts.

The training is expected to conclude on Thursday, April 16, 2026.

The trial of Akindele Akintoye, alongside Platforms Capital Investment Partners Limited and Duport Midstream Company Limited, continued on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, before Justice Ekerete Akpan of the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the court refusing to admit in evidence a document tendered by Akintoye containing his request to buy out the shares of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

The defendants are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended six-count charge bordering on dishonesty and the alleged conversion of $35 million belonging to the NCDMB.

The application for the admission of the document was filed by counsel to the first and second defendants, E.O. Adekwu, SAN, on March 10, 2026, during his cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness (PW4), Isaac Yalah. However, it met strong opposition from the prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, who urged the court to reject the document on the grounds that it was merely a photocopy and not a certified true copy.

“I have an objection to the admissibility of this document. The ground is that this document is a photocopy of an original, and it is addressed to the NCDMB, which is a public institution. Such a document ought to have been certified. The only admissible copy of a public document in law is a certified true copy.

“We rely on Section 89 and Section 102 of the Evidence Act. We also cite the cases of Adeyefa v. Bamgboye (2013) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1863) 532 and Onwuzuruike v. Edoziem (2016) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1508) 205. We urge the court to discountenance it and dismiss it,” he said.

Delivering his ruling on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, Justice Akpan agreed with the position of the prosecution and rejected the document on the grounds that it was a photocopy of a public document and not a certified true copy.

The judge thereafter adjourned the matter until May 18 and 19, 2026, for the continuation of trial.