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NDIC Drags Wema Bank to Court Over Alleged ₦125.38 Billion Banana Island Assets, ₦401 Million Disputed Payment

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The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), acting as liquidator of the defunct Gulf Bank Plc, has instituted two separate actions at the Federal High Court in Lagos against Wema Bank Plc. The combined claims amount to approximately ₦125,384,535,500.00 (One Hundred and Twenty-Five Billion, Three Hundred and Eighty-Four Million, Five Hundred and Thirty-Five Thousand, Five Hundred Naira), arising from two distinct sets of disputed high-value properties in Banana Island, Lagos, alongside an alleged improper cash transaction of ₦401 million.

Both suits were filed under the Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts and Financial Malpractices in Banks) Act and form part of NDIC’s long-running efforts to recover and liquidate outstanding assets of the defunct Gulf Bank Plc nearly two decades after its collapse.

The two actions, though related, concern distinct sets of six properties each, acquired through different shell companies allegedly used by the defunct bank.

The first suit concerns six properties in Banana Island purchased in the name of Euston Wenberg Engineering Company Limited, described in the pleadings as a shell company used by Gulf Bank Plc. These plots, situated in Zones J, K, L and P, have a combined area of approximately 13,794.145 square metres. At the prevailing market rate of ₦4,500,000.00 per square metre, NDIC values the properties at ₦62,073,652,500.00 (Sixty-Two Billion, Seventy-Three Million, Six Hundred and Fifty-Two Thousand, Five Hundred Naira).

The second suit concerns another set of six properties in Banana Island acquired through Bacad Finance and Investment Limited (later renamed Supra Commercials Limited), another entity in which the defunct bank allegedly held over 80 per cent shareholding. These plots have a combined area of approximately 13,979.974 square metres, valued at ₦62,909,883,000.00 (Sixty-Two Billion, Nine Hundred and Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Three Thousand Naira) at the same per-square-metre rate.

In addition, the second suit seeks recovery of ₦401,000,000.00 (Four Hundred and One Million Naira) allegedly collected by Wema Bank from NDIC’s agent bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), in September 2009.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked Gulf Bank Plc’s banking licence by notice published in the Official Gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Volume 93, Number 3, Government Notice No. 7) dated January 16, 2006. The Federal High Court, Lagos Division, subsequently made a winding-up order on November 27, 2006, appointing NDIC as liquidator.

On the basis of those instruments, the corporation maintains that it is legally mandated to trace, recover and liquidate all outstanding assets of the defunct bank for the benefit of depositors and creditors.

In the first suit, NDIC alleges that Gulf Bank acquired six Banana Island plots between 1998 and 2003 using Euston Wenberg Engineering Company Limited as a vehicle. The internal records of the defunct bank reportedly treated the acquisition as a loan account, an arrangement NDIC contends shows that the assets remained beneficially owned by Gulf Bank Plc.

NDIC further alleges that Wema Bank took custody of the properties purportedly to secure an interbank deposit of ₦771.79 million, but that a joint CBN/NDIC special examination conducted in September 2005 found no record in Gulf Bank’s books confirming that any such deposit existed.

The examination report, dated September 30, 2005, reportedly found the defunct bank’s explanations unsatisfactory, while no supporting documentation was subsequently produced.

According to NDIC, Wema Bank later presented two managers’ cheques from Access Bank and Intercontinental Bank, both dated September 2005, totalling ₦250 million in favour of Euston Wenberg Engineering Limited, which NDIC described as instruments for a purchase rather than recovery of a deposit.

NDIC contends that the purported sale at ₦250 million was commercially implausible, given that a single property in Banana Island at the time was worth more than ₦500 million.

In the second suit, NDIC alleges that Gulf Bank injected ₦20 million into Bacad Finance and Investment Limited in 2001 to increase its share capital and later invested an additional ₦60 million in the company in 2003.

The defunct bank allegedly held over 80 per cent of Bacad Finance’s shares and used the entity to acquire another set of six Banana Island plots. The pleadings state that the bank intended to develop the properties into a luxury residential estate comprising 72 flats, to be known as Bacad Estate, in partnership with Shelter Afrique.

NDIC alleges that Wema Bank, without any valid mortgage, court order or proprietary interest, took custody of the properties and later claimed to have sold them for ₦524 million through managers’ cheques dated 2006 and 2007.

NDIC described the claimed sale price as grossly implausible, arguing that each property was worth over ₦4 billion by that period.

Separately, NDIC stated that in June 2009 it wrote to Wema Bank approving payment of ₦1,635,616.44 as the full outstanding deposit due to the bank as of January 16, 2006, the date Gulf Bank went into liquidation.

Notwithstanding that communication, NDIC alleges that in September 2009 Wema Bank collected ₦401 million from UBA, NDIC’s agent bank, without lawful justification, adding that the corporation has no record showing Wema Bank was owed any sum beyond the approved ₦1.635 million.

Both suits are supported by investigations conducted by senior legal practitioners and retired security operatives, including Dada Awosika SAN of D.A. Awosika & Partners LLP, Pekun Sowole Esq., retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police Abiodun Alabi, and J.I. Okolonji Esq., a retired Deputy Director who headed NDIC’s Criminal Investigation Unit.

NDIC has also filed a petition with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation and possible prosecution.

In both actions, NDIC invoked the special jurisdiction conferred by the Failed Banks Act, which the pleadings described as excluding the application of limitation laws, permitting the lifting of the corporate veil and authorising summary remedies, including committal to prison for non-compliance.

NDIC is seeking declarations in both suits that any purported sale of the properties was illegal, null and void; that Wema Bank had no valid interest in the properties; and that NDIC, as liquidator, is entitled to their current full value.

The primary relief sought in each suit is payment of the assessed value of the properties within 30 days of judgment. In the alternative, NDIC seeks the return of all original certificates of occupancy.

In the second suit, NDIC is also seeking repayment of the ₦401 million. Both suits include applications for committal of the bank’s Managing Director and Executive Directors in the event of non-compliance.

Wema Bank, through its counsel, Dr. Oladapo Olanipekun SAN, Mr. Kehinde Ogunwunmiju SAN and Mr. Tunde Afe-Babalola SAN, has filed a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

The bank relies on the Failed Banks Act, the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, the Limitation Law of Lagos State, and Sections 6(6) and 251(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

Wema Bank argues that NDIC’s claims do not arise from any loan, credit facility, guarantee or banking transaction between the parties, as required under the Failed Banks Act, and that the bank was never a customer of Gulf Bank Plc in respect of any credit facility.

The bank further contends that the suits disclose no debtor-creditor relationship and that NDIC lacks locus standi because the disputed properties were allegedly owned by Bacad Finance and Investment Limited (now Supra Commercials Limited), a separate legal entity.

According to Wema Bank, the matter is fundamentally one of property ownership rather than banking debt recovery, placing it outside the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction under Section 251(1) of the Constitution.

The bank also argues that any cause of action, if it existed at all, arose between 2006 and 2007 and is now statute-barred under the Limitation Law of Lagos State. It accused NDIC of abusing court process by attempting to circumvent limitation laws with stale claims.

Wema Bank is asking the court to strike out or dismiss both suits.

The Federal High Court is expected to determine, among other issues, whether Wema Bank had any legal or equitable interest in either set of Banana Island properties; whether any valid mortgage or court order existed to justify disposal of the assets; whether the Failed Banks Act excludes limitation periods and, if so, whether it applies in the circumstances; whether NDIC can lawfully recover assets approximately 20 years after Gulf Bank’s collapse; and whether the alleged ₦401 million collection from UBA was properly authorised under banking law.

The matters have been adjourned until June 25, 2026, for further proceedings.

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EFCC

Alleged $6bn Mambilla Project Fraud: Witness Clarifies Certification of FEC Meeting Extracts

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4 days ago

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June 11, 2026

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The Fifth Prosecution Witness (PW5) in the trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, clarified issues surrounding the certification of the extract of the minutes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of May 21, 2003, before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Apo, Abuja, following a formal request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for certified extracts of the meeting.

The former minister is facing prosecution on an amended seven-count charge bordering on alleged official corruption and the fraudulent award of the Mambilla Power Project contract worth $6 billion to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.

The witness, Iliya John Iyakwari, an Assistant Director of Legal in the Federal Ministry of Justice, currently serving in the Federal Ministry of Power as an Assistant Legal Adviser since August 2014, stated during cross-examination by defence counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, that the request for a certified copy of the extract of the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003, was received from the EFCC in July 2023.

He explained that the certification was eventually done in 2024 because, upon receipt of the request letter from the User Department, the Legal Department forwarded a memo to the EFCC dated July 27, 2023, but the initial copy sent to the Commission was not certified, prompting the EFCC to return it.

“It was after it was received by the EFCC in July 2023 that they realised the extract was not certified. So, in January 2024, a staff of the EFCC brought back Exhibit Three K to my Legal Adviser, and the name of the EFCC staff is Babangida.

“He brought it personally and reminded my director that it was not certified. My director then gave me the document to certify. That is why my lord will see on the face of the document that the date it was certified, January 26, 2024, is different from the date it was forwarded. It was in the process of certification that I mistakenly stamped the original forwarding letter dated June 27, 2023. After stamping the document, I gave it back to my director, who I believe handed it over to Babangida because I left them afterwards,” he said.

When asked whether his earlier testimony suggesting certification in June 2023 was contradictory, prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, SAN, defended the witness’ position, insisting that the testimony was not contradictory and that court records spoke for themselves.

“My lord, I object to this particular question anchored on Exhibit PW5A, which was just tendered in court. What I see in our record, and what I believe is reflected in the records of the court, is that in his explanation, he summarised that all these activities were done in June 2023; he never said the certification was done in 2023.

“This objection is founded on Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is superior to the Evidence Act. We will rely on the record of the court, particularly line 16,” he said.

The witness was also asked whether the document tendered in court by Babangida during his testimony was a different extract of the FEC meeting from the one he certified.

The prosecution counsel again objected, arguing that the witness, in line with court procedure, was absent from the courtroom during Babangida’s testimony and therefore could not be cross-examined on a document that was not tendered through him. He cited the case of Buhari v. INEC & Others (2008).

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter until June 18 and July 2, 2026, for the continuation of trial.

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Judiciary

Alleged ₦2bn Nigeria Air Fraud: How Sirika Allegedly Used Ethiopian Airlines as Fake Nigeria Air – Witness

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4 days ago

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June 11, 2026

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The 12th Prosecution Witness (PW12), Christopher Odofin, in the trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, told Justice S.C. Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, how Sirika allegedly passed off an aircraft belonging to Ethiopian Airlines as the promised Nigeria Air by the government of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.

The decoy aircraft, adorned with the livery of the proposed Nigeria Air, landed on the tarmac of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on May 27, 2023, three days before the expiration of the Buhari administration, and was flown back to Addis Ababa on the morning of May 29, 2023, the handover date to the succeeding government.

Hadi Sirika is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended six-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of public funds amounting to over ₦2 billion, alongside his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika; son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule; and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.

The contract for the establishment of Nigeria Air was awarded to Tianaero Nigeria Limited, a company belonging to Gabriel Tilmann, described as a close associate and friend of the former minister.

Reading from a portion of the contract agreement with Ethiopian Airlines, the witness, an investigator with the EFCC, stated: “The aircraft will depart from Addis Ababa (ADD) late evening of May 26, 2023, for it to be positioned early morning of May 27, 2023, at the Abuja (ABV) airport. The aircraft will stay at ABV airport for the static display of Nigeria Air livery until May 28, 2023. The aircraft will leave ABV airport early morning on May 29, 2023. The chartered flight will be operated by Ethiopian Airlines crew in Ethiopian Airlines uniforms. The Federal Government of Nigeria and Nigeria Air may put together local models who will be in Nigeria Air uniforms to pose for ceremonial pictures. The models may come to Addis Ababa so they may fly with the chartered flight to ABV.”

The witness told the court that the display of the aircraft at the Abuja International Airport was deliberately planned to coincide with the end of the first defendant’s tenure as Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development on May 29, 2023, and to present the aircraft as evidence of the actualisation of his promise to revive Nigeria Air.

He further stated that after the less-than-72-hour display, the Nigeria Air logo was removed from the aircraft and it was returned to Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa.

According to the witness, the investigating team also established that Ethiopian Airlines entered into a charter arrangement for the static display of the Nigeria Air livery for only three days, from May 27 to May 29, 2023. This was based on documents and information received from the airline in a letter dated June 12, 2023, sent in response to the EFCC’s request for information regarding Nigeria Air.

He added that although the contract was purportedly for the establishment of Nigeria Air, the charter agreement with Ethiopian Airlines was entered into on May 24, 2023—just five days before the expiration of Sirika’s tenure—and was solely for a static display of the Nigeria Air logo on an aircraft.

All documents tendered in evidence by the prosecution were shown to have been duly signed, authorised, and accompanied by certificates of identification. None of the counsel representing the four defendants objected to their admissibility.

Among the exhibits was a compact disc containing a voice note from the first defendant, Hadi Sirika, marked as Exhibit 37, which prosecution counsel applied to be played in court at the next adjourned date.

Further in his testimony, the witness disclosed that although the contract for the start-up of Nigeria Air was initially awarded to Tianaero Nigeria Limited for over ₦299 million on April 4, 2022, the company later received a contract extension on October 17, 2022, increasing the sum to over ₦599 million. He alleged that the extension was granted on the instructions and directives of the first defendant due to his relationship with the company’s alter ego.

According to him: “The investigating team arrived at this position when the phone of one Enitan Muyiwa Abel, who was a Permanent Secretary in the first defendant’s ministry, was analysed, revealing a voice note sent to the Permanent Secretary while the first defendant was in Spain, instructing him to ensure that the contract was awarded to Tianaero Nigeria Limited.”

Justice Oriji adjourned the matter until June 17, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.

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EFCC

EFCC Arraigns Three Over Alleged ₦10bn Fidelity Bank Fraud in Lagos

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4 days ago

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June 11, 2026

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned three men and another suspect currently at large before the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja over an alleged ₦10 billion fraud involving Fidelity Bank Plc.

The defendants, identified as Ibeh Emmanuel, Chidiebere Ihekoronye, Akubuo Chimuanya, and Austen Peaks Aniekan, who is currently at large, were brought before Justice Olubusola A. Okunuga on Wednesday on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, possession of fraudulent documents, and forgery.

According to the EFCC, the defendants allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain ₦10 billion from Fidelity Bank Plc through forged documents and false representations.

One of the charges alleged that on or about April 16, 2026, the defendants, with intent to defraud, conspired among themselves to obtain the sum of ₦10 billion from Fidelity Bank Plc by falsely claiming that Maton Engineering Limited, which maintains account number 4011468821 with the bank, had issued an irrevocable standing order directing the reservation, blocking, and transfer of the funds in favour of Prospera Finance Limited, domiciled with Wema Bank Plc.

The anti-graft agency stated that the representation was false and that the defendants were fully aware of its falsity at the time it was made.

The commission further alleged that the defendants attempted to obtain the said amount based on the same purported instruction and false representation.

According to the charge, the alleged offences contravene Sections 1(1)(a), 8(a), and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.

The EFCC also accused Emmanuel of being in possession of a document purportedly issued by Fidelity Bank Plc confirming the existence of blocked funds amounting to ₦10 billion in favour of Prospera Finance Limited, which he allegedly knew to be false.

In addition, the defendants were accused of forging a document titled, “Confirmation of Ten Billion Naira (₦10,000,000,000.00) Blocked Funds in Favour of Prospera Finance Limited,” purportedly emanating from Fidelity Bank Plc.

The commission alleged that the document was knowingly fabricated without lawful authority, contrary to Section 365(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

When the charges were read to them, the defendants pleaded not guilty.

Following their plea, prosecution counsel, A.A. Usman, urged the court to fix a date for trial and requested that the defendants be remanded in a correctional facility pending the determination of their bail applications.

Justice Okunuga subsequently ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter until June 18, 2026, for the hearing of their bail applications and the commencement of trial.

The EFCC stated that investigations into the alleged fraud are ongoing, while efforts are being intensified to apprehend the fourth defendant, Aniekan, who remains at large.

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